Hogwarts Strawberries
by Asuka Kureru
Summary: 1x5, fusion with Harry Potter Slytherin Heero Yuy and Ravenclaw Chang Wufei shouldn't have anything in common... right? DISCONTINUED.
1. A Night at the Infirmary

Title: (in need of a) 

Author: Asuka Kureru (adaptation of a roleplay session with Girl_Starfish) 

Betareader: Girl_Starfish

Series: Gundam Wing AU 

Warnings: Yaoi, silliness, AU-kind of OOC, fusion with Harry Potter (not that we mention anything much) 

Pairing: 1x5x1 

This is a stupid one-shot, born from a roleplay session between me (Asuka Kureru) and girl_starfish. We have weirder and weirder ideas recently. XD....( girl_starfish: like that's a bad thing...) It was supposed to be pure uninteresting smut, but no sex happened and then we realized that we didn't have any plot and lost interest. But I enjoyed the banter too much not to share. It's a fusion, meaning they're both normal people who happen to attend Hogwarts. No Gundams or anything. 

Heero's in Slytherin because he's cunning and would do anything to achieve his goals, and Wufei's in Ravenclaw because... hell, have you READ his episode zero? (plus Starfish likes nerdy!Wufei) One or both of them could have been in Gryffindor, but that's been overdone and isn't really interesting. At this stage of their life, they haven't found selflessness and courage anywhere in them yet (okay, I just pulled that explanation outta my ass. so what? it's not as if it was relevant). Plus Gryffindor annoys me. :P 

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Heero was stretched out on his infirmary bed, on top of the covers. He was shirtless and his right arm was bandaged nearly up to his shoulder. He had gotten burned when his potion toppled over, and the pain made him feel very pissed off. Then there was the fact that another set of his robes was going to be used as rags. Argh. 

In the other bed, Wufei sulked. He was curled up, obstinately ignoring the other teenager. His chest was covered with bandages. The only thing that was distracting him from complaining about the pain was thinking angry thoughts about Yuy. He had been getting used to the other teenager as a partner during the last months, and couldn't believe he would do something that stupid and dangerous. And here he'd been starting to like him... what a moron! 

Heero was directing angry thoughts at his fellow Slytherins who'd thought it would be fun to throw explosives in his cauldron. He knew that they were aiming for his partner, but still, they should have known better. He would have to get revenge. 

The brown haired boy glanced at the Ravenclaw in the other bed, seeing him fingering his bandages, a sulky expression on his face, and winced. He hated his housemates a lot just then. Before today, Chang Wufei didn't even notice him. Now it was worse. He resented him. 

Well, maybe it was better in a way, he tried to console himself. At least he had to acknowledge Heero. 

The Slytherin sighed, wondering if he should apologize. But the thought barely entered his mind before he rejected it with violence. It wasn't his fault, he didn't see why he should make excuses. 

In the other bed, Wufei was slowly acknowledging that he wasn't just angry at his potions partner and his stupid friends for the burn or the loss of good marks. He was angry at himself too. He sighed, a little sadly. He'd almost convinced himself that Heero wasn't like the others Slytherins... 

He shifted positions slightly. He wanted to lie on his other side, but he didn't want to have to look at Yuy. 

Heero didn't stay in place ten minutes before he began to fidget, getting bored. Abandoning the idea of a nap, he sat up against the headboard, annoyed. He noticed that Wufei had rolled over. But he wasn't even looking at him, so no entertainment on that side. 

"... This is only slightly less boring than history lessons," he grumbled in a coldly disgusted tone. 

Wufei snorted. "Well, we have you to thank for that." 

Heero threw the black-haired teenager a glare. "And how am I responsible for my housemates' stupidity? You think I asked them to throw that stuff in my cauldron?" 

"There must have been some reason your cauldron was chosen." 

"Yes, because they all love and admire me so much," Heero shot back, rolling his eyes. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively, hiding a wince of pain when his arm protested. 

Great, now it was a certainty, Wufei despised him. Fuck. He wanted to leave the infirmary, but Pomfrey would never let him. No use telling her that he didn't feel any poison seeping into his bloodstream. 

Wufei gave him a disbelieving look. "So, you're saying that they were picking on you?" 

Heero looked away, embarrassed to be considered like the weaker one, the one who got bullied. "Revenge?" he threw back blindly. There was always one thing or another to get revenge for in Slytherin. 

Wufei rolled his eyes. "Figures." 

"Maybe they were aiming at YOU," Heero answered, frowning. 

"As if," Wufei scoffed. He was quiet and reserved, didn't make a fuss as long as no one interfered with his learning. He didn't see why the hell anyone would want to do something like that to him.

Heero snorted. "You don't imagine the number of people you're pissing off, mister know-it-all. You're worse than that Granger girl." 

Wufei glared evilly. "That's hardly a reason to do this." 

"They must have been bored," Heero answered calmly, sounding unconcerned. As if dismissing Wufei, he flexed his arm slowly, testing. 

"... Does it hurt?"

The brown-haired student glanced at Wufei. He nearly threw back a sharp retort, but Wufei seemed... sincere. 

"... It's a second-degree acid burn. Of course it hurts," he answered calmly. 

... Okay, maybe he could have been more friendly. 

The Chinese boy hesitated, then thought 'what the hell' and sat up slowly. 

"There's a healing charm I was researching for an assignment last year. It doesn't heal faster, but it numbs pain. Want me to use it?" 

Heero blinked, then frowned a little, puzzled. Why would Wufei want to help? He was pissed at him. But the Slytherin decided not to look at the gift horse in the mouth and accepted that chance to grow a little closer to the boy. Wufei wouldn't try to get revenge on him now, he wasn't the type. He could have been a Gryffindor for his sense of honor, if his thirst for knowledge hadn't been even greater. 

Wufei sat up at the edge of the bed and reached across the gap between their beds, pointing his wand at Heero's arm. 

"Injurus bene medicium vale!" 

Heero relaxed a little as the pain receded, and Wufei leaned back against the pillow. "Not bad," the Slytherin agreed. 

"You want to do it to me?" Wufei asked, suggesting a truce of sorts. 

Heero smirked. 'Oh hell yeah.' "... I don't know..." 

"It's a peculiar charm -- it only works when someone else does it to you." 

"Hmm. Not that useful, then," the other student commented offhandedly, not responding to his request for help. 

Annoyed, the Chinese teen laid back down. He should have known. Damn bunch of selfish jerks. 

Heero slid out of his bed and padded closer to get a better look at Wufei's bandaged chest. "Let me see if I remember it right..." He repeated the words, his wand pointed at the bandages. 

Wufei doubled up, gasping. Heero started. 

"Did I do something wrong?" He really didn't think he had, but he didn't know the spell. A pained moan rose from the Ravenclaw's throat and Heero leaned over him, hiding his worry by a puzzled frown. 

"... Chang?" 

"Got you," Wufei answered, flicking Heero's nose. Heero gaped. 

"You... You..."

Wufei was laughing, his dark eyes twinkling merrily behind those forbidding glasses. Heero began to laugh too. 

"You Slytherin!!" He slapped Wufeis shoulder, but not that hard, not wanting to hurt him more, and mock-glared. 

"Ow," Wufei gasped, a hand over his bandaged stomach. "Okay, laughing hurts, got that." 

"My revenge will hurt a lot more than that," Heero stated in a darkly menacing tone. 

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?" 

"Yeah," Heero answered, nodding firmly, and sat back on his bed. 

Wufei smirked. "I'm scared, Yuy." 

"You should be," Heero answered, nodding seriously. "I'm very evil, you know." 

"Really." 

Wufei looked amused, and not so cold anymore. Heero smirked in satisfaction and, leaning back against the headboard, he deadpanned: "I eat babies for breakfast, you know." 

"Of course. Isn't that a requirement of your House?" 

"No, that's for tea only. Breakfast is optional." 

"Ah, I see," Wufei answered, nodding seriously. He never would have thought that Yuy had a sense of humor. But then he supposed his own sense of humor wasn't very noticeable either. 

Heero chuckled softly and laid down on his side, propped up by his pillow, and watched Wufei stretch and try to get comfortable intently. "I don't understand why the hell we can't even go back to our dorms," he added with a sigh. "I would welcome Divination homework just now." 

"We're supposedly resting." 

Heero snorted. "I'd rest just as well in my own bed." 

Wufei sighed. "I certainly wouldn't mind being back in the dorm." 

"What, you don't like my company?" 

"I suppose you're not the worst person I could be stuck with," Wufei admitted after a moment of thought, and Heero felt vaguely contented. 

"Who would be the worst?" he asked with idle curiosity. 

"Meiran," Wufei answered without thinking. "Or that moron with the spiky hair that always wants to know if the potion ingredients are poisonous --the one in your house." 

Heero blinked. "Meiran? Who's that?" Ex-girlfriend? he hoped not. 

"My cousin." 

"She's in your House? I don't know her," Heero asked, hiding his relief. 

"She's in Gryffindor. She's on their quidditch team. Fifth year, like us." 

Heero tried to remember. He didn't really follow quidditch, but apart from Cho Chang -- another cousin? --there weren't a lot of people of Chinese descent in the school. 

"Oh, her." 

Wufei nodded. "Who would you hate to be stuck in here with? Besides me, of course." 

Heero considered the question seriously. "About half of my housemates. About 6/7th of the Gryffindors. All of the first years. ... That Hufflepuff Head Girl. Relena," he added with a grimace. 

"The earnest one? Who thinks Houses events stir up dislike?" 

Heero nodded. 

"I can imagine. She'd be worse than Meiran; Meiran would at least stop to breathe." 

".. It's not why I'd really hate to be cooped up with her."

"Oh?" Wufei didn't see any other reason to dislike Relena. She was a bit naive, sure, but she was a brave girl with very strong beliefs. Even if he didn't share them, he had to respect that. 

"She has a crush on me the size of Hogwarts," Heero revealed, his face twisted as if he'd bitten into a lemon. 

"Really?" Wufei couldn't help but ask, surprised. 

Heero nodded glumly. "Always following me around." 

Wufei felt slightly worried. "Do ... Do you like her back?" 

"Like her back? 'You're different, Heero. I know you're not like those eeeeeevil Slytherins. Oh! Not that I think Slytherins are inherently evil, but...' "

Wufei had to chuckle. 

"I'd rather have sex with Crabble and Goyle. At the same time." 

"Ew," protested Wufei, but inside he was grinning. 

"Though..." Heero pondered out loud, making a show out of considering the question, "they do look big and beefy. Maybe everything that should be in their higher head..." 

"Thank you for that particular mental image." 

Heero smirked deviously at Wufei. "My pleasure."

"You're evil," Wufei deadpanned. 

Heero's smirk widened. "Why, of course I am." 

The Ravenclaw stuck his tongue out at Heero and settled back to sleep resolutely. Heero couldn't help himself. It was just too tempting. 

"Is that an insult or a proposition?" 

Wufei felt flustered. If he wasn't more than half-sure that Heero was just messing around and wasn't really interested, maybe... 

"An insult." 

"Ah, damn."

The Chinese boy arched an eyebrow. That wasn't the response he'd been expecting. But then Heero was probably still using deadpan sarcasm. He was still smirking after all. 

".. You ever tried telling Relena you don't like her?" 

Heero frowned. "I told her a dozen times. She doesn't want to listen. She's sure I've been traumatized in my youth and that's why I'm so cynical, but she can _heal_ me." 

"Girls seem to be good at hearing what they want to hear," Wufei answered, sighing. "Were you traumatized in your youth?"

"Hell no. I'm not fucking broken, dammit. I'm a cold and manipulative son of a bitch, that's all." 

"And evil. Don't forget that." 

Heero smirked slowly. "And evil. Babies taste yummy. Especially roasted when they're still fresh and wriggling." 

Wufei smiled back, settling himself more comfortably. "How about stewed?" 

"Hmm... loses some of the taste. Now barbequed is very good, if you have the right sauce." 

Wufei chuckled, then yawned. It was getting late and the healing had taken more out of him than he'd believed. "... I hope I didn't miss much in herbology this afternoon... My partner never takes good notes. What subjects did you miss?" 

"Care of magical creatures," Heero answered, shrugging. 

"Oh really? Any idea what you were studying?" 

"Don't know, but we're teamed up with Gryffindor, so it's not as if we'd have studied much." 

Wufei snorted. "That's right. Your Houses really don't get on, do they?" 

Heero made a face. "Are you kidding? Of course not. After all, Gryffindor are inherently good and Slytherin are inherently evil. Gryffindors make good Aurors, Slytherins make good Death Eaters, everyone knows that." 

Wufei eyed him curiously. "You're being sarcastic, right? Sometimes it's hard to tell." 

Heero gave him a duh-look and Wufei chuckled, relieved. 

"A good half of the Gryffindor are nothing else than righteous bastards." 

"They're not that bad," Wufei protested halfheartedly. 

"They are. They'll never realize that Slytherin are supposed to be cunning and ambitious, but not cruel and even less evil. Stereotypes... Feh." 

Wufei nodded, agreeing with him. But then the stereotypes worked both ways. 

Suddenly, he frowned. "Ack." 

"What?" Heero asked, startled out of his sulking. 

"I can't get rid of that horrible mental image you gave me... I'm wondering if that's the reason Malfoy puts up with those two." 

Heero sat up in a leap. "EW!!" 

"What? It makes sense..." 

Heero laughed. "Hm, the idea merits a thorough check. I'll be sure to ask him." 

Wufei sat up to look at Heero. Either he was bluffing or... "He'll go nuts." 

Heero tried to look innocent. "It's a valid question." 

Wufei laughed, impressed. He wasn't bluffing. The guy was insane. He liked him even more than he'd thought he would. 

"I'd like to see that." 

"I'd ask Crabble and Goyle but it wouldn't be quite as fun. Tomorrow, at noon, you're not studying or anything?" 

"I'm not. Why?" 

"Bet you I ask in the middle of the grand hall." 

He WAS insane, but that was a form of insanity Wufei found quite attractive. "What do you want to bet?" 

Heero opened his mouth to answer "your body" but then reconsidered. It wasn't of any use to jeopardize that new understanding. 

... Well... He should at least test the waters. "The loser owes the winner one favor? One thing he asks for?" 

Wufei looked surprised, and Heero gave him his best wicked gin. "Come on, live dangerously..." 

"Agreed." 

Heero's smirk widened. "Winner can ask for anything at all." 

"Well, not anything. Nothing that could get us expelled." 

"No other restrictions?" 

"Or killed." 

Heero snorted. 

"Anything else goes." 

Heero nodded. "That works," he accepted, amused. "What shall I ask of you, I wonder..."

Wufei chuckled. With a temptation that strong, no self-respecting Slytherin would back down. He doubted Heero would really use him for anything degrading or hurtful, and maybe there was a chance that the boy's teasing really hid what he hoped for. 

"Mind if I bring a camera?" Wufei asked. 

"Do what you want. You don't mind losing, I hope?" 

"If it means seeing Malfoy's reaction in person, I can live with it. Just this once," Wufei said as he did a full body stretch. Heero committed it to memory. 

"You better not disappoint, Heero," Wufei was saying.

"Oh, believe me, I won't," the Slytherin answered in a low, purring voice. Wufei looked at Heero out of the corner of his eye. That tone of voice was making his stomach do interesting things. 

Heero was close to rubbing his hands in glee. Wufei owing him a favor... Now that was worth a lot. 

"You know, Malfoy has a lot of friends. You won't get hurt because of this?" 

Heero snorted. "I can take it. They probably won't retaliate directly, so it won't be ten against one. Keeps the mind sharp." 

Wufei smiled. Even when he bragged, he was cute. And if his roguish smirks were supposed to be sexy... it was working. 

"That's one way to look at it, I suppose." 

"He's not challenged enough. He could be interesting to know, under all those layers of pureblood breeding and education," he added, looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "But he's too used to people crawling." 

Wufei nodded. "Remove the overbearing parents too. ...Oh, great." 

"Hmm?" 

Wufei was making a face. "You just made me think of Malfoy naked." 

Heero blinked. "So what?" 

"That was a thought I could have done without, thank you." 

Heero decided that it was as good an opening as any to test the waters. "He's a little on the ...willowy side, but not what I'd call ugly." 

Wufei considered. ".. I guess not. So you'd like him if he wasn't such a brat?" he asked, biting down on the touch of jealousy. 

Heero nodded. "Think so. He's not stupid, just very spoiled. I like people with a sharp mind." 

Wufei could have been annoyed, but just then Heero flashed him one of his smirks and he forgot. 

"From what I've seen of him, he can also be very vindictive. The pretty outside enough to make up for that?" he asked calmly, flushing a little at what the smirk seemed to mean. 

"If he wasn't vindictive," Heero snorted, "he'd be in Hufflepuff."

"True. But then there is a difference between giving back as good as you get, liking to tease and prank, and being cruel. He's hovering pretty close to being cruel sometimes," Wufei said thoughtfully. "Where are you on that scale?" 

Heero thought about it. "I don't like needless cruelty. But when people piss me off for any reason, I have no problem being a son of a bitch right back." He paused, then laughed a little. "Not that I can't be cruel to babies without reason. But it's different. They're part of my diet." He was happy when he got a chuckle from Wufei. 

Heero didn't know why he was chattering so much. He should stop trying to impress his potions partner or the boy would get annoyed... He guessed it was because he liked Wufei and he was not from his house. There wasn't much of a chance his secrets would be used against him. 

"So, what other qualities attract you?" Wufei asked in a light tone, testing the waters cautiously. 

Heero looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "Hmm.. I don't like cowards." 

Wufei nodded --same here. He rolled onto his stomach to look at Heero. 

"Why do you want to know?" 

Wufei blushed. Caught. "Just... curiosity, I guess. So...?" 

Heero eyed Wufei's blush with interest. "Trying to see if you have a chance?" he asked, sounding like he was joking. He wasn't. 

Wufei decided to take a leap of faith. If Heero reacted badly, he could always pretend it was a joke. "Well, actually, I was trying to workout if you'd freak if I kissed you, but yours works too." 

Heero nibbled at his lip thoughtfully and looked Wufei up and down with a deliberate slowness that made the Chinese teen squirm. 

"No, I don't think I'd freak. I think Pomfrey would, though. She wouldn't like the state of the bed linens tomorrow morning," he added, winking. 

Wufei looked away. "I said kiss. Not... that." 

Heero laughed, and Wufei's guts twisted in a funny way. "You think if I get my hands on you I'll stop at just one kiss?" 

The black-haired teen stared at his companion with barely concealed surprise. "... You like me, huh?.. Or are you just desperate?" he added, using a teasing tone to take the bite out of the remark. 

Heero snorted and slid out of his bed, stepping closer to Wufei's. 

"I think I kind of like you. As far as an evil being can like anyone, of course." He put his hands on the bed and leaned forward, and felt a happy tingle when Wufei leaned into him. 

"I suppose I kind of like you, too," the Ravenclaw admitted detachedly. 

Heero lowered his voice. "... A kiss, was it?" 

"Yeah." 

Heero leaned closer. 

"One only?" he whispered, staring at Wufei intensely. He looked so serious Wufei had troubles refusing him. 

"One," he managed to say in a firm tone.

"Whatever. You'll still owe me one after tomorrow morning." 

Wufei's eyebrow arched. "Is that what...?" ... what he would have been asking for anyway? The Chinese boy felt a smile stretch his mouth. 

"Maybe I can ask for more than one kiss..." Heero smiled as he brushed Wufei's lips with his own. Wufei kissed back, resting his hands on Heero's shoulders, and he took this as encouragement and leaned closer, slowly deepening the kiss. It was too slow for Wufei, who decided to slide his arms around his neck and pull him closer, and kissed back eagerly. Heero tried to pull back once, thinking that he was coming on too hard, but the Chinese teen glomped onto him, apparently determined that he wasn't going anywhere, and pushed him back onto the bed, all without breaking the kiss. The Slytherin was very pleasantly surprised. 

"You said one kiss," he chuckled against the other boy's lips. One of his hands, seemingly on its own, slid down Wufei's chest, rubbing gently. 

"One to start with, Slytherin." He sounded so haughty that Heero couldn't help but laugh. 

"Are you sure you're in the right house?" 

Wufei smirked, running a hand down Heero's side. "I don't like the taste of babies." 

"You can eat elderly ladies, too, or kittens," the short-haired boy answered, trying not to gasp and betray his pleasure. 

"What about you? Or are we not allowed to taste fellow Slytherins?" 

Heero arched an eyebrow. "That is quite another meal. Supper, most likely." He suddenly rolled them over to be on top, pressing the length of his body against Wufei's, and nibbled on his ear. Wufei laughed breathlessly, looking up at the boy holding him down. He didn't even feel his burns anymore, only an increased awareness of Heero's body. 

"Cannibalism 101," the Slytherin whispered against his lips, and they were still smiling as they kissed again. 

Suddenly, they both froze. They could hear Madam Pomfrey in the other room. 

In a second, Heero had jumped out of Wufei's bed and into his own, and Wufei was burrowing under his sheets. On the other bed, Heero curled up to hide his burgeoning erection. 

"Damn," the Ravenclaw whispered, making a face, and then the nurse was here and he was flawlessly pretending to be asleep. 

Heero hid his grin and watched Pomfrey fuss around the room discretely, impatiently awaiting the moment when she would turn the lights out. 

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For those who don't know, the Strawberries in the title ... Heero is Ichi, one, and Wufei is Go, five. And Ichigo means strawberry in Japanese, hence 1x5 is "codenamed" Strawberry. I didn't invent this, folks. It all came from those weird Japanese people. ;P

Please leave your ideas for other scenes in your reviews, Starfish and me could use them. 


	2. Detention

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Chapter Two

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It was late, but Heero was still up. He was cleaning trophies, muttering obscenities as he went about his business. He had gotten detention for provoking Malfoy in the middle of a meal. The ensuing fight had been quite interesting. People were either laughing at Malfoy or taking his side and trying to protect him. The resulting battle hadn't taken long to spread to the other Houses. 

The teenager was bored as hell. The thing was so shiny, he could have bet that it had been cleaned just last week. He sighed, and kept on cleaning. 

It was worth it, the detention and the bruises. Tomorrow he'd try to find a way to see Wufei and... well. 

Heero smiled. Tomorrow, he'd know.

---

Wufei crept along the corridor cautiously. He'd had to do Charms homework for one of Heero's Housemates to find out where the Slytherin's detention was, and even then he wasn't sure the girl hadn't told Filch. Still, they didn't have class with the Slytherins for another two days, and if he had to wait that long to find out what Heero had in store for him, he'd go insane. 

He pushed the door open carefully. There was a light here -- and Heero turned around to face the door, visibly surprised. Wufei shut the door just as carefully behind him before greeting Heero. He didn't want to be heard.

"Hey," he whispered.

Heero grinned, his own smile widening slowly. "Hey."

Wufei smiled back, relieved. He hadn't been sure he would be welcomed. 

Heero put the trophy down unceremoniously and went to Wufei. "What the hell are you doing here? If Filch catches you..."

Wufei arched an eyebrow elegantly. "He'll give me detention?"

Heero blinked, then, struck by the absurdity of the situation, he laughed. "We won't do much cleaning if you get detention too... Unless he tells you to do something else."

"Well, that's a risk I'm willing to take."

Heero watched him in silence for a few seconds, then asked the question that had been bothering him since he'd come in. "... Were you caught in the fight?" To his relief, Wufei snickered. 

"No, not really. Although my camera was--it still works though."

"I want copies," Heero demanded, trying not to laugh. He stepped closer, but didn't reach out like he wanted to. He wasn't sure where he stood with Wufei.

"You have a computer, don't you?"

Heero blinked. "How did you know?" He didn't think anyone knew he had smuggled his laptop there. Muggle stuff wasn't common at Hogwarts, and most wizards wouldn't have recognized a computer for what it was even if they'd heard about it.

"I saw you reading a computer magazine once. It was unusual enough that I remembered it."

Heero blinked. And here he thought that before the incident that had landed them at the infirmary, he had never been anyone else for Wufei Chang than his Potions partner. 

"Can you watch Mpeg files?" Wufei asked detachedly, holding out a CD. "It ends rather suddenly -- that's when Scotty elbowed me."

An evil grin spread slowly on Heero's face and he took the CD reverently, then, after hiding it in a pocket of his robe, raised the hand he still held to his mouth and kissed the inside of Wufei's wrist. His eyes were shining in unholy glee.

Wufei laughed at Heero's action, but didn't pull his hand away. He felt oddly flattered by the gesture, even though it was mostly a joke. He let Heero guide him to a windowsill, still holding his hand. 

The windowsill was deep enough to serve as a seat. Wufei pulled himself up on it, a little nervous. He wasn't sure what to talk about now... This was all so new to him. 

"So..." Heero fidgeted a little, unsure about the course of action now that he had Wufei where he wanted him. "...You owe me one wish. Anything I want," he said with a teasing smirk. "That is, if you honor your word."

"Would I have come here if I didn't?" Wufei asked with some trepidation. Finally, he was going to know what Heero had decided to do with him. "So, what is it?"

"Well," Heero answered, a very serious, nearly grave expression on his face.

"... yes?" the Chinese boy asked with a hind of trepidation. 

"I don't know yet."

Wufei opened his mouth to yell 'You DON'T KNOW?' but decided he didn't want detention that much. "What?"

The bastard was laughing at him.

"I spent all day wondering what the hell it would be, and you don't know yet?"

Heero didn't seem to be able to stop laughing long enough to answer. Wufei poked him. "It's not funny."

Heero wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. Wufei huffed. "You're a very vindictive person, Yuy. I suppose," he added cattily, "if you have no need of me, I might as well go back to my house."

But Heero refused to let go of his hand. "Nuh-huh. You stay here and wait for me to decide."

Wufei stuck his tongue out at Heero and waited to see what he would decide. 

Heero was playing with Wufei's fingers, looking deep in thought. He wasn't. He was just enjoying the closeness and had no desire to let go. 

Feeling a little nervous, the Ravenclaw looked around for a subject of conversation. "You have to polish all of these? Or do you just have to be here until a certain time?"

"First answer," Heero answered glumly. "And when I'm finished it will be something else. I have eight days of detention."

"Eight? But--that's ridiculous!"

Heero shrugged. "Zabini broke his leg when Crabble knocked the table over. And there were lots of broken plates. Professor Snape was not amused. He doesn't like it when we fight in front of the other Houses."

"But still," Wufei protested, "you didn't even throw the first punch! And that meandering Neanderthal Goyle was the one who broke most of the plates."

Heero shook his head. "I was the one who provoked them, though. What professor Snape doesn't forgive, it's that I did it in the middle of the room, so that everyone could see how his students were behaving," he explained. "We're supposed to take care of grudges in private, discretely. 'Slytherin is the House of subtlety, after all'," he added, imitating Snape's cold, cultivated tone.

Wufei couldn't help but chuckle at that, and Heero smirked back. He liked Wufei a lot. He felt at ease with him. And though the Chinese teen didn't understand that his imitating Snape was not meant to be disrespectful, at least the guy wouldn't decide to turn fanatical to protect the professor's honor. 

"So..." Wufei hesitated, tucking a stray strand of hair behind one ear. 

The Slytherin was so caught up in watching the elegant gesture that he started. "Hmm?"

His eyes widened incredulously. Wufei had leaned in quickly and was kissing him, with no warning. Quite surprised, he still managed to kiss back. 

Wufei had been nervous about this, but had decided that if he did it quickly he wouldn't have time to be worried. He was relieved when Heero didn't pull away. When Heero's hand began to caress his face gently as they explored each other's mouth, his eyes closed of their own will. At the moment, he was happy. So was the Slytherin, from the weird purring moan he was making.

"That's good," whispered Heero. "I don't have to use my favor to ask for another kiss after all."

He kissed Wufei again, lips only, teasing. Wufei chuckled. "I was getting tired of waiting. Subtlety is well and good, but sometimes, the direct approach is the best." He kissed Heero back, his tongue flickering along the other boy's palate, and pulled away before he could retaliate. "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Oh, yes, definitely," Heero purred as he slid his arms around his waist to pull him closer, their sides pressed together. Wufei complied, resting an experimental arm around Heero's neck. It felt right, comfortable somehow. 

Heero would have liked to do more than hold him against his side, but it seemed too soon for that. 

"... Hey, 'Fei... you don't mind if I call you Fei I hope?"

Wufei shook his head. "What?"

Unable to resist, Heero nuzzled his cheek briefly then pulled back, slightly surprised at his own audacity. It was becoming a little too intimate. Time to switch the focus to other things. "I was wondering... How do you know about Muggle things?"

"I suppose most Slytherins would not show an interest in such things ...Actually, a lot of Ravenclaws don't either," he added, muttering. 

"You're Muggleborn?" Heero asked, not really concerned. He knew that lots of people from his house had issues with the Muggle world, but that was mostly the ones coming from pureblood families. That didn't mean that only pureblood wizards could get Sorted into Slytherin. As long as you fit with in the values of the House, you were in. 

"I'm just wondering," Heero added to let him understand that he wasn't one of the snobs. "Most wizards don't know shit about Muggle artifacts, that's all. So, are you?"

"...Kind of."

Heero blinked. 

"My family has magic, but it seems to skip a few generations."

"Oh, squibs."

"Not exactly. I'm Chinese, right? It works differently there. They have magic, but it's latent."

Heero nodded thoughtfully--he'd never really thought of it like that.

"Kind of like--do you know anything about genes and DNA?"

"A little, yeah," Heero answered, curious.

"My mother is a Muggle doctor. Anyway, she and my father were both carried of magical genes, although not wizards themselves."

"Well maybe that IS the definition of a Squib," Heero argued. 

Wufei chose not to discuss the nature of Squibs with him and continued, not caring what label his parents were placed under. "They didn't think there was any chance of me having magic, so they moved here. And..." He shrugged.

Heero couldn't help but chuckle. "And here you are."

"Meiran's pretty much the same except her mother is a witch."

The less Heero could say is that he didn't care about Meiran, but since it could have been hurtful, he didn't say anything.

"What about you?" Wufei asked. 

"... I'm from a wizarding family," Heero said, and chuckled. "Well, at least halfway. My mother was a witch. I don't know about my father," he added in a bland tone. He didn't want to be pitied. "Never cared to find out either."

Wufei wisely chose not to tell him he was sorry, Heero's voice told clearly that he wasn't sorry at all.

"I was muggle-raised, though. My stepfather's a Muggle. Odin and I were living in Norway when I was a kid. I should have gone to Durmstrang, but... We moved. And here I am."

"It's kind of funny," Wufei reflected thoughtfully, "that we both could have ended up in completely different places. And yet we didn't."

Heero's voice was strangely soft when he breathed a "yeah" against Wufei's lips. He kissed the black-haired boy with a gentleness he hadn't shown before. "I'm kind of glad. I doubt they had sexy as hell Chinese guys at Durmstrang," the messy-haired teenager teased, to hide his sudden fit of tenderness.

"Yeah, but they might have had sexy as hell Russian guys. You don't know what you're missing," the Ravenclaw managed to answer. He felt oddly pleased and flattered by Heero's words. It was a nice feeling. 

Heero thought about that for a moment, and then chuckled, leaning against Wufei's shoulder, liking the feel of his thigh pressing against his own. "Hn. you're right. Damn, I missed something then."

Wufei poked the other teen sharply, his black eyes glittering with amused annoyance. "I could just go back to my dorm you know."

"Hey! "Heero protested, tightening his hold around Wufei's waist. "No you can't. I'm not letting you leave. You're mine," he added in a mock-sinister tone. He began to nibble on Wufei's shoulder, trailing little bites up toward his neck. 

The Ravenclaw shivered. He was kind of pleased by Heero's reaction, but this was a little too intense for him.

"... Is this okay?" Heero whispered softly against his neck, pausing to make sure that he wasn't overstepping any boundaries. 

Wufei looked for a way to change the situation. He smiled at Heero, hoping to soften his words. "I think that's enough for now--do you want a hand with the trophies?"

Heero kissed the base of Wufei's neck once in apology before he straightened up, conscious that he was going a little far. 

"That would be nice," he answered with a smile. "That way, I'll have finished faster and I will be able to... do something else the other days," he finished in a glum tone, remembering that his detention had a set number of days and that the speed at which he would complete his tasks wouldn't change anything. 

Wufei smiled at Heero and looked around for a cleaning cloth, trying to hide his sudden nervousness. What was Heero referring to by "doing something else"?

"This one okay?" he asked, holding a rag up.

Heero nodded and went to find his own cleaning rag, noticing how Wufei's nervousness seemed to dissipate slightly as he stepped away.

"You don't need to be nervous, I'm not going to jump you," he teased gently as Wufei joined him by the table where the trophies were strewn. "...Though, you're awfully tempting..." 

He kissed Wufei's jaw before stepping away, smirking. Wufei huffed indignantly. "Who said I was nervous?" He was polishing so fast, Heero wondered if he wanted to wear a hole in the metal. "Anyway, I might not let you jump me."

Heero couldn't resist the temptation to have the last word. "Ah, but you might. You owe me one, you remember?"

But when he didn't hear a reply, and looked at his companion to see that he was sulking, Heero felt suddenly very uneasy. He hesitated before stepping close, putting a hand on Wufei's shoulder. 

"... You know I'm kidding, right? I wouldn't ask that of you. I mean, I... sure, you're hot. But... I like you, and... I'd like you to like me too. You're not going to like me if I ask you things like that."

"I was fairly certain you wouldn't," Wufei answered calmly, his eyes glowing with amusement. "Otherwise I wouldn't have made that promise."

"...oh. Good."

Heero realized that he was blushing. He felt stupid now for having made such a big deal out of it. He looked down, attacking his trophy with renewed vigor.

Wufei couldn't help but kiss Heero's cheek briefly. While unnecessary, his concern was touching and he had not wanted to rebuke him. 

"You're cute when you're flustered," he whispered in the short-haired boy's ear. 

"Shaddap or I'll make you best buddies with Crabble," Heero said as he hugged the Ravenclaw without warning.

Wufei play wrestled with Heero, trying to get out of his hold. "Oh is that so?"

"Yeah!" the Slytherin growled as he managed to pin Wufei against a wall. 

The Chinese teen growled back.

"I seem to have caught something..." Heero whispered, giving his captive one of his best leers.

"Is it a Slytherin trait to smirk like that?"

"It's not so much a trait as a trademark. We suffer through long, difficult lessons in the privacy of our dungeons to get it just right."

Wufei chuckled, and Heero had to kiss his nose for laughing so nicely. 

"And is catching people in your nets included in those lessons as well?"

"Nah, that's covered in Seduction and Blackmail. We get it during first year."

"...please don't tell me that's how you learned to kiss."

Heero nuzzled his cheek, enjoying the feel of their bodies brushing against each other under the robes. 

"Nah," he snickered, amused. 

"'Good," Wufei exclaimed with relief. But the Slytherin hadn't been finished. 

"THAT is from the seventh year tutors," he added with an innocent look, making it up as he went. "You know, the guys who make sure we don't get lost in the castle and do our homework and all that."

"Okay, that's not true," Wufei snorted loudly.

He wasn't completely sure about the way they were standing, but decided he liked it. But just at that moment, Heero laughed quietly and stepped back, freeing him. Wufei stayed leaning against the wall, vaguely disappointed. 

"So ... you ever had a boyfriend?"

Heero blinked, not having expected the question. 

"... err. yeah, kind of."

"Really?"

"Maybe you know him, he's in sixth year... what am I saying, of course you know of him. Duo Maxwell." 

"Maxwell? The chaser in your House team?" Wufei asked to clarify. But he was pretty sure that it was the same guy, though. Duo was a pretty unique name. He was a pretty unique guy, too. There was a rumor that he could have been in Gryffindor, but he had decided that he "would have more fun in Slytherin" and thus, had finally been sorted in that House. He wasn't far behind the Weasley twins as far as practical jokes went. Far from stupid, too, and with decidedly unique looks. Damn, but it would be hard to compete against that. 

"We were more friends with benefits though," Heero added, for some reason wanting Wufei to have a clear picture of how things were. 

The raven-haired boy considered that bit of info. So Heero had had a chance to be Duo Maxwell's boyfriend and they had never gone farther than friends? He didn't know what that meant, but he would have time to think more about it later on. For now there was only one question that he wanted an answer for.

"Are you still... friends with benefits?"

He was very relieved when Heero shook his head. But it was sill curious... "Why not?"

"It was getting complicated," Heero shrugged, dismissing the matter. 

Wufei only muttered "Oh". He wanted to ask how, mainly so that the why of their breakup wouldn't come back and bite him in the ass later, but he also didn't want to pry. He picked up his cleaning cloth again to distract himself, vowing not to get too curious. 

Luckily Heero decided to explain a little.

"He's one of the few friends I have, I had enough of his girlfriends and boyfriends getting all suspicious and aggressive at me."

It took a moment for that information to process.

"When he was with someone, we never did anything, but since he has that bizarre habit of not lying and rare are those who don't believe that we still weren't having an affair behind their back..." he explained, shrugging.

Wufei felt vaguely relieved. "You're still friends though, right?"

"Oh, yeah, sure. Nothing more, though."

He saw Wufei's relief and felt relieved himself-- he had been afraid that he wouldn't believe him.

"So, only Duo?"

Heero nodded minutely, then said in a soft voice: "He's kind of touchy feely, but that's just the way he is... I hope you're not going to get jealous if you see him with me. He has this tendency to play with my hair or slide an arm around my neck."

"I'll keep that in mind. So...If you acknowledge the possibility that I get jealous ... does that mean you want to go out with me?"

Heero began to clean a House cup, trying to act as if he didn't really care. He didn't like offering his weaknesses to sight. 

"Yeah, I'd like to go out with you," he said nonchalantly. "So, want to be my boyfriend?"

"I suppose I could do worse," Wufei deadpanned. He did a crappy job at hiding his happiness, though. 

Heero mock-glared, but he couldn't keep it up long and ended up grinning. 

They worked in companionable silence for a few minutes before Wufei decided that he needed to talk before he exploded. 

"So, you have a computer. Any other Muggle stuff?"

"Um. A watch. Nothing else, really," Heero admitted, surprised by the sudden question. "I *cough* kind of connected my laptop to the Internet with a spell. It wasn't easy to mix it right. If the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department hears about it, I'll be in trouble," he added with a wince.

Wufei nodded. "We have two computers in the Ravenclaw common room, and we have such a hard time adjusting the Internet to get past the castle's wards. On the plus side, we've never once gotten a virus."

"Why am I not surprised that Ravenclaw would break the rules. There's knowledge to be found on the net after all," Heero commented, chuckling. 

"Actually, we applied to Dumbledore for permission."

Heero blinked. "And he gave it?"

"He was interested in the possibility of combining magic and programming."

"...Hn." He hadn't even thought of asking for permission, but then he was not a Slytherin for nothing. 

Meanwhile, Wufei was continuing. "He even contributed some school funds towards our fundraising for the computers."

"I hate you," Heero grumbled. 

Wufei laughed at him, and Heero gave him a mean scowl. "I don't care, my laptop is mine and no one else uses it, so there. And I bet my connection's faster than yours."

Wufei snorted and shook his head, then sighed.

"What's wrong, boyfriend?" Heero asked, feeling tingly to be able to call him that. 

The Ravenclaw smiled at him. "Oh, nothing." He felt happy and quite silly. That was definitely unusual, he reflected as he finished his trophy and straightened up. 

"Well, that's the last of these."

His companion put the trophies back in place before he turned back to face Wufei. "I have to go and see Filch to tell him I finished my task. You'd better hide... or do you want to go back to your dorm?" he asked, wanting Wufei to say that he could stay, even though they had school the day after. 

But Wufei shook his head, refusing the proposition. "I'm going back to my room."

Heero felt horribly disappointed, and even the kiss Wufei brushed against his lips made it only slightly better. He kissed back, but he was rather unhappy. 

"... I guess I'll see you tomorrow...?"

Wufei squeezed his boyfriend's hand, trying to cheer him up. "Yeah--you have detention in the garden, right?"

Heero nodded and let out a sigh. "Pruning some trees. What the heck is pruning anyway?" he added sulkily. 

"Trimming a tree. In some case it includes removing branches altogether, although that is not included in the original definition. In pruning one wants to remove dead growth, making way for new, and improving the life and health of the tree."

Heero stared at Wufei for a few seconds, incredulous, then snorted. "Ravenclaw indeed."

"We had Herbology this morning," Wufei countered.

"Ah, it's funnier to think that my boyfriend knows everything. Don't break my illusions."

Wufei's chuckle changed into a yawn midway, and he knew that as nice as bantering with Heero was, he really shouldn't procrastinate any longer. "Night, boyfriend," he whispered, kissing Heero's cheek.

Heero watched him walk away, then once he had disappeared, shook himself out of his daze and went to find Filch.


	3. Date in the Dungeons

****

Chapter Three

-----------------------------------------------

--History of Magic, two days later--

Heero had waited for Wufei during his detention, but he never showed up. He couldn't find him at meals either, and if something serious had happened to Wufei, the rumor mill being what it was, he would have known-- meaning that there was another reason he hadn't come. Thus Heero felt rather sulky, and kind of rejected. 

The Slytherin went to sit in one of the last rows, not sure that he was happy about the fact that they would mix with the Ravenclaw during that lesson. He'd probably see Wufei... and while he wanted to know what had happened, he couldn't help but feel apprehensive, too. Maybe Wufei had decided that it was a mistake to agree to be his boyfriend.

And here they were, filing in. Wufei was there. He looked perfectly fine as he walked up the aisle to take his usual place in front of Heero. Heero glared at him, remembering how he had felt that evening, with his excited anticipation turning to worry, then to rejection. 

Wufei winced as he met his eyes, and Heero looked away, scowling darkly. 

The Ravenclaw turned around to talk to Heero, keeping his voice low so that other couldn't overhear. "I'm really sorry..." he tried to explain. But the teacher began to call the roll before he could say more, and he had to turn away not to attract attention. 

He really had looked sorry, and Heero felt mollified already. But he didn't want to admit it quite yet. 

He began to write in silence --the first History of Magic lesson he'd bothered to take notes for in the last three years. If Wufei wanted to talk, he'd talk first. 

But when Wufei opened his book, and that his robes slid back slightly, Heero couldn't miss the shallow scrapes on his arms. The messy-haired boy stared, puzzled. There were a lot of them on the exposed skin, and no signs that it stopped under his sleeves. He wondered if Wufei had been attacked by one of Hagrid's animals in Care to Magical Creatures. 

Heero squirmed, wanting to ask badly, but he'd decided that he wouldn't be the one to do the first step and he was too stubborn to change his mind. 

Meanwhile, Wufei was trying to take notes, but he realized that he couldn't concentrate on the lesson. He could literally feel Heero's presence at his back.

He turned to a new page and wrote, tilting it so that Heero could see. 'Are you mad at me?'

There was a grunt in answer, and Wufei winced. 'I'm sorry. I feel really stupid for getting caught.' But he couldn't write more because one of his Housemates was looking toward him. 

Heero blinked, confused. What did he mean... Getting caught? What was implied there? He began to write down html codes on his paper sheet to clear his head, lost in thought. The html always calmed him down. It needed a rational mind. 

When his classmate's attention seemed to be elsewhere, Wufei found another blank page. 

'I'm going to the kitchens tonight, after detention. You?'

It sounded like a date... but even if it wasn't Wufei's fault, Heero had still been stood up and it hurt. He decided to let his boyfriend stew. 

Wufei had been playing with his hair nervously for so long that his thick, smooth strands were beginning to look curly at the ends. His anger evaporated, Heero leaned forward. "If you're lucky, maybe."

Satisfied by the way he had startled the Ravenclaw, he sat back. Wufei was trying to take notes, but Heero could see him blush even on the back of his neck, and he felt very satisfied with himself.

Reassured, Wufei worked steadily ... until a wad of rolled up paper bounced off his head. He turned around to glare at the Slytherin who threw it. 

Behind him, Heero was doing the same thing. He'd remember to trip that guy in the hallway or something. 

The guy -- one of the "dark" Slytherin, but with not enough class or pure blood to be part of Malfoy's crew, smirked nastily at Wufei. "So how was detention with Hagrid?"

Heero blinked. Detention? Wufei? "Perfect" Wufei? 

"You tell me," Wufei retorted loftily. "I have nothing to compare it against. You on the other hand..."

The Slytherin was not pleased at being put down in front of others. "Watch yourself Chang --"

Was he threatening his boyfriend? Heero thought coldly. ...Hn. Something bigger than tripping him in a hallway.

His relationship with his Housemates was not growing any better. Bah! He'd never had any patience for morons. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, plotting. 

Meanwhile, Wufei was ignoring the idiot, busying himself with his textbook. It was really hard to concentrate knowing that Heero was sitting behind him, though-- he wanted to turn around and talk to him, but that would have attracted attention. Even without being near as fanatical as Gryffindors, Ravenclaws didn't really hang out with Slytherins much. The two Houses had a wary respect for each other, and their working relationship was fine, but as for friendship, the House of the Serpent mostly kept to itself. 

Hidden from view by the table, Heero put a foot on Wufei's seat and leaned forward. "Detention, hmm?" he whispered softly. 

"I told you I was stupid," Wufei whispered back.

Heero snorted. "No comment."

Feeling awkward, he bumped Wufei's hip with his foot playfully, not really knowing how to reestablish contact. But he wanted Wufei to understand that yes, he was ready to forgive now. 

Wufei blinked, going pinkish-- he was not entirely sure how Heero's foot got there. 

The messy-haired boy chuckled, amused, and leaned against the back of his chair. He felt much better suddenly. They would work things out. 

----------------------------

--the library--

Heero walked in the library and looked around for a place. It seemed that there was no empty table left anywhere, though. This one was packed with Hufflepuffs, that one... three Gryffs, no way... Ah, there was a table in the corner with only two people there, and it seemed to be his only choice. 

Wufei was sitting with Meiran at one of the tables. As usual, she'd managed to talk him into helping her with an essay. Wufei was patiently making suggestions.

"--Look, the question isn't about how you make a polyjuice potion. It's about the ethical considerations--should you make the potion?'

"Should I?" Meiran repeated, puzzled. 

"That's what you are debating in the essay," Wufei sighed.

One of the two people had long black hair pulled into a tight ponytail and thrown over a shoulder. Heero recognized Wufei's hair and smiled. Lady Luck was on his side today. He had so much trouble meeting his boyfriend usually. The last night in the kitchens, they hadn't been able to do much more than smile at each other; the House elves were definitely not the kind of spectators he wanted for a kiss and make up session. Then Miss Norris had stalked them and they'd had to run without having the occasion to agree on the time and place for another meeting.

Wufei tapped Meiran's essay again. "You're going to have to change this paragraph. And most of the next--"

His cousin grumbled. 

Heero wondered who the girl was, not that he really cared. She was taking up time that Wufei could spend with him. As he arrived to the table, he unabashedly listened to the end of their discussion. 

"You did ask for my help, you know," his boyfriend was sighing, obviously annoyed.

"I know, but . . . its so much work and I'm so bad at this--"

Heero glanced at the black-haired girl --Asian and Gryffindor, probably his cousin, the one he'd hate to be stuck with-- before dismissing her and smiled lightly at Wufei. "Is this seat taken?"

Wufei looked up and smiled when he recognized Heero, but before he could reply, Meiran did.

"Yes."

Wufei blinked, floored by his cousin's aggressiveness. 

Luckily, Heero hadn't lost his Slytherin sense of repartee and gave the girl a disdainful look, his eyebrow arched. 

"Really, with whose ghost?"

"Yours, if you don't go some where else," she snapped back.

"I wasn't asking you, bitch," Heero said, frowning. "Wufei?"

The Ravenclaw came out of his trance. "Well, I think we'd just about finished Mei--and I have to talk to Heero so--"

Heero tried --without success-- to hide his smug grin.

Meiran gave her cousin an incredulous look. "You have to talk to a Slytherin?"

"Heero," Wufei told his cousin in a warning tone, "is my research partner in potions. And actually, if you're finished, Mei, we wouldn't mind using this table."

Very disgruntled, she picked up her essay and put it in her schoolbag, grumbling all the time. Heero sat down at Wufei's other side, ignoring her. 

"Guess I'll see you later--you, know, I've been looking over our astronomy homework, and I can't figure out if Pisces is in the east or what--"

"I can't help, sorry," Wufei interrupted her gently. "I'm behind. Detention, remember?"

Meiran looked even more displeased as she left, bumping Heero's chair in passing. Heero snorted at her childish reaction. 'What a dreadful threat'. 

He glanced at Wufei warily, wondering if he'd pissed him off by making his cousin leave and being rude to her.

"She is so childish," Wufei sighed. "I'm really sorry."

"... no problem," the Slytherin responded, glad that he wasn't going to be glared at. 

Wufei gave Heero a shy smile, tucking his hair behind one ear. 

"I wasn't expecting to see you today."

Heero smiled back, his heart fluttering. "I didn't either, but I still hoped."

Wufei nodded as he reached under the table for Heero's hand. It was all the reassurance Heero needed.

"Hey... there's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up. You want to come with me?" he asked, trying to sound casual. Now THAT would be a real date, nothing like a meeting in a stupid broom closet or behind some armor or anything.

"You'll be allowed? Your detention will have finished?"

Heero nodded, and Wufei squeezed his hand briefly. "Well, then, sure," he accepted -- not too eagerly. He didn't want to have Heero think he had him wrapped around his little finger.

"Unless I do something else to get me punished, but it would have to be a pretty good dare for me to chance it."

Wufei chuckled. "Is that a compliment?"

"I guess it is," Heero answered distractedly, playing with the Ravenclaw's fingers.

"I like you so much I'll go on a date with you unless I think of something better--some compliment," Wufei teased him. "Is that supposed to flatter me or make me mad?"

Heero smirked crookedly. "You need tutoring in Slytherin-talk, boyfriend. I'll go on a date with you unless you manage to find something to wager that I'd want more than a date with you."

The Chinese teen turned pinkish. 

"Oh."

Chivalrously, Heero tried not to snicker. It didn't work so well, so to distract his boyfriend, he glanced at the rest of the library for another subject of conversation. 

"I hate to say that, but we'd better begin working before people wonder what we're up to. Unless ... you have nothing more to do?"

"Well . . . I kind of figured you'd be so busy with catching up the rest of the homework you missed with detentions, that I did our potions project already."

"...seriously?" Heero asked, incredulous. The thing was a mile long! 

"I didn't foresee that we have some time together. I'm sorry. I mean, we can still change things, if you'd like to--"

"Oh, no , that's fine, I trust you did well," Heero hurried to reassure him. "I just.. well, I like potions. But I know what you can do, so I'm sure it's good. It's too bad you're not my partner anywhere else," he added with a little smile. 

"If you want input, then I really don't mind doing it over," Wufei answered earnestly. "I made copies of the procedure I used for you in case Snape asked questions..."

Heero squeezed his hand to reassure him that he hadn't done anything wrong and smiled. "I'll read it and tell you if there is anything I want to add, but for now... I'd better begin on my Arithmancy." 

Wufei let go of Heero's hand reluctantly to dig in his bag. "Okay." Feeling pleased at his acceptance, he gave him the notes, and then pulled out a book to read.

Heero read the notes, his face serious, looking as if his foot wasn't pressed against Wufei's. Encouraged, the Ravenclaw rested his leg against Heero's--it felt comfortable, so he left it there. 

"If you want, I could help. Maybe read the chapter aloud while you make notes?"

Heero gave him a small smile and they went to work. 

---later---

Heero stretched his arms above his head, his back arching. "Here! Finished." He glanced at Wufei, who had given up reading a while ago, to find him watching him. The Slytherin arched an eyebrow, a little smile stretching his lips. 

Wufei blinked, startled out of his contemplation. 

"Okay, let me see," he asked, reaching out. He took the essay and read through it briefly, nodding. The methods were not ones he'd employ himself, but there was no thinking that Heero was a bad student.

Mischievously, Heero leaned forward and whispered in Wufei's ear, his breath tickling his skin, "Watching me, eh?"

"And what if I was?" the Ravenclaw answered casually, not looking up from the essay. 

Heero had not expected Wufei to confirm and flushed slightly. The black-haired student grinned, enjoying having Heero embarrassed for once, and flicked his nose playfully. 

"You're very watchable. ...For someone who eats babies that is."

Heero stuck his tongue out.

"What was that a Slytherin said to me? Ah yes--that an insult or a proposition, Yuy?"

His only answer was a suggestive leer.

Wufei brushed Heero's thigh under the table lightly, enjoying the way his boyfriend shivered.

"...someone feels daring today."

"An acute observation, Heero," Wufei smirked deviously.

Heero arched an eyebrow. "And will you still be that daring when we're not in the library anymore?"

"Well, to test that hypothesis we would have to leave the library. I can't think of anywhere private."

Heero put his things back in his pack fast enough. "I can. There are a few places in the dungeons..."

Wufei couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive--there were rumors about the dungeons. 

He reminded himself that Heero had so far been nothing like what Slytherins are supposed to be like and smiled at him. "Sounds ... interesting."

Heero sent him a devilish smirk. "Scared, Chang?"

"What should I be afraid of, Yuy?"

The smirk turned malevolent. "Being alone in the dark with me? Where no one can hear you scream?"

Whoa. Was it hot in here or what? "As long as no one hears YOU scream," he managed to answer back, unwilling to let Heero have the last word. 

Heero chuckled. 

Wufei pulled his own bag on. His fingers strayed towards Heero's before he stopped himself--too public. He stuck his tongue out at Heero, brushing against him slightly as he walked past him. "So where are we going?"

"Let me think," the Slytherin answered as he guided Wufei toward the dungeons. 

Wufei looked around with interest as they descended the stairs and walked down corridors whose smooth walls turned to paved stone. Somehow his steps echoed off the walls, while Heero's were muffled, and for a second he wondered if it was natural to Slytherins or just a necessary skill. The ceiling was oval in medieval fashion, and the greenish-white candles were making themselves scarce. It wasn't really damp so far, but quite cool down there, and he surreptitiously stepped closer to Heero-- only because he was cold, of course. 

Heero guided him to a discrete door partly hidden in shadows. It was a quite pretty room, for being in a dungeon, with engraved columns and a basin in a corner, but no water was gushing from it. 

"...are those manacles real?"

Heero laughed. Trust Wufei to notice that sort of details. "Yep, think so. But they're so rusty they'd fall to dust if you touch them."

Suddenly, he was feeling unsure. He shouldn't have assumed that Wufei wanted a dark corner out of the way as he had done. This was one of his favorite rooms, and he'd wanted to show it to him at some point, but he feared that Wufei thought he just wanted to... well. "Um. We don't have to stay here. We can go take a walk by the lake or something. I just... I like this room, that's--"

"The first year Ravenclaws have a special lecture by Professor Sprout on pondweed, so--"

"... ah." Retreat plans foiled. 

Wufei leaned against one of the columns. "This is nice enough," he assured him, realizing suddenly about Heero's nervousness.

"...okay." Heero went to put his bag in a corner and turned to look at Wufei, who was staring at the wall and frowning faintly, deep in thought.

"Um, if you're still friends with Maxwell--then this probably won't bother you but--"

"What about Duo?" he asked, puzzled. 

Wufei tucked his hair behind one ear, as he did when he was nervous. "It's not about Duo. It's just ... I've dated before. I thought I should tell you. After all, you were open with me so ..." he shrugged. 

"... oh," Heero managed to answer. He hadn't expected that.

Heero signaled to Wufei to follow him to a stone bench. Wufei followed in silence, taking Heero's hand again to reassure himself. It was hard to gauge Heero's reaction. He was either calm because he wasn't taking it badly, or he was just hiding his true reaction, it was impossible to tell. But then, he had not refused his hand. 

Heero sat and looked up at Wufei, reaching out to brush a strand of black hair out of the Ravenclaw's face. "I told you about Duo because we're still hanging out, I didn't want you to react like some of his girlfriends who thought him and me just had an open relationship and they were just the spice in his sex life, while I was the steady boyfriend. I don't think you'd react like some of his boyfriends, who suggested threesomes. You don't have to tell me about your past boyfriends if you don't want to," he added with a reassuring smile. "It's in the past, right?"

Relieved, Wufei relaxed. "Neither of them were what you could call serious relationships."

"Oh. That's good. No jealous ex to beat up, then --Wait. That's bad."

Wufei smiled, amused. "I think Ernie still kind of likes me. But after we broke up for the third time I'd had enough and decided to swear off dating until I'd passed my NEWTs."

Heero blinked. "Ernie? Macmillan? Damn, my gaydar must be jammed," he grumbled. He felt gratified when Wufei laughed, thought... and then remembered what he'd said. "Wait... your NEWTs?"

That was in seventh year!! They were in fifth year now! Heero didn't understand. 

Wufei shrugged, matter-of-fact. "Well, I didn't expect you to be so ... I didn't expect you, is all."

Heero blushed and couldn't hide his irrepressible smile. Wufei smiled back, happy with the way his admission had been received, and leaned in to kiss him briefly. Heero kissed back, melting against him. Letting go of his hand, he slid his arm around Wufei's waist to pull them closer and rested his chin on his shoulder. 

"... Who was the other?" asked Heero after a few minutes of snuggling. He wasn't sure it was good for him to know, he already knew that he wouldn't be overly nice to MacMillan from now on, but his irrepressible curiosity... 

"Matthias Browne."

Heero searched for a face to attach to the name, wondering if he knew him personally. "... which house?" 

"Ravenclaw. My year. Though that lasted under a week. It was in second year--it was more curiosity than anything else."

Heero blinked and whistled softly. "Second year? That's early."

"It is a Ravenclaw trait, I suppose."

The messy-haired boy snorted. 

"We didn't do anything more than kiss really."

"I'm not sure I want details," the Slytherin grumbled.

"--and then the rest of our dorm found out," he finished with a shrug. "There aren't any details. Anyway, he's got a girlfriend now."

"Found out?" Heero repeated, giving him a worried look. "Did they tease you about it? Annoy you?" 

"... we debated the arguments for and against homosexuality and compared our thoughts about our own sexualities."

Heero couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Oh gods! That's such a Ravenclaw thing to do!"

He rested his chin on Wufei's shoulder, still snickering, and Wufei allowed himself to be mollified. 

"Better than being picked on I suppose."

"Much better," Heero agreed, nuzzling Wufei in what he hoped was a placating way. 

"You haven't ever been--?"

Heero smirked. "Oh, about two-thirds of the Slytherins are bisexual. Well, bicurious at least," he added with a chuckle. "We're the House of Ambition. What's a little thing like sexual orientation to us?"

"How fortunate for me," Wufei shot back in a dry tone. 

He decided that he had talked enough for now and cuddled Heero. Encouraged, Heero nuzzled his neck, then hesitated a second before kissing the hollow under his jaw softly. The Ravenclaw made a soft, pleased sound that made Heero shiver. Resolving to hear that sound again, he began to drop kisses all over his neck, and was pleasantly surprised to feel his boyfriend's fingers sliding through his hair and down his back. 

Heero made a little noise of approval as Wufei kissed his jaw, then his lips. They leaned closer to each other, their foreheads touching as they looked into each other's eyes.

"...Why are you interested in me? I mean..." Heero shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Wufei stared at Heero, caught by surprise. 

"I'm not really the type of company you should seek," the Slytherin added with a crooked smile.

"That goes the same for you."

Heero blinked, but chose not to argue that point. 

"... But I asked first."

Wufei sighed and tried to put words to how the slim, daring messy-haired teen made him react. "You're ... well, you're different. And interesting ...and, you're not... weak."

Heero wasn't sure it was enough. But since he wasn't sure how to explain what he liked in Wufei either... 

"And I ..." Wufei faltered, his words lost. Heero reached up and caressed his hair softly as encouragement, moved by Wufei's sincere desire to explain.

The Chinese finished in a soft, shy voice. "Well--I can't help it."

Heero gave his boyfriend a little smile. "Really?"

"I'll let you know after further research," he answered before kissing Heero again. "Your turn now."

"You're smart, but you're not pretentious. Proud, but not vain. You have a sense of humor that matches my own. You-- "

Wufei squeezed Heero's knee and cuddled him, feeling flattered.

"I'm not sure how to word it. I've found you interesting for a while now. Intriguing," he added. He hid his blush in Wufei's neck, flustered. 

"Really?" Wufei asked, looking pleased. Heero found encouragement in it and continued. 

"I love that way you have of flicking back that lock of hair that always falls on your face when you're leaning over a potion too long. I like the bored looks you give morons over your glasses. Even when they're twice your weight," he added with a chuckle. "You don't search for fights, but you're not a coward." 

In a very, very soft voice: "You're responsible, but--you broke the rules to come see me."

There was a long moment of silence. 

"I'm--I don't know what to say," Wufei managed to whisper. He traced Heero's cheek with his fingers, feeling awed. "Thank you. That is the nicest thing any one has said to me--and you really mean it."

He smiled at Heero, not knowing what else to say. 

"It also helps that you're handsome and have one of the tightest, hottest butts I've seen in a while," Heero quipped, an impish grin on his face. 

Wufei chuckled. "You're irredeemable," he commented, nuzzling Heero's neck. 

"Who said I wanted to be redeemed?" Heero asked drolly, tilting his head on the side to give the Ravenclaw more access. "It's rare when someone's not from a Quidditch team and still has such a sexy body," he added, amused. 

"How do you explain this then?" Wufei shot back, poking Heero in the stomach.

"Duo's on the team," Heero explained, laughing. "Sometimes we practice together."

"Well, I'm a reserve on the house team."

"You're destroying all my illusions."

Heero nibbled on Wufei's neck playfully. 

"So what? You don't think it's a good thing I can fly?" Wufei asked, sounding mildly offended. Then his voice changed to suggestive. "You've never made out on a broomstick?"

Heero stared at the other boy with wide eyes. He'd never stop catching him by surprise. 

"On a broomstick?"

Wufei laughed at him, and Heero harrumphed, offended. 

"You have to be suicidal."

"Or skilled. Still, riding a broom together--"

Heero eyed Wufei thoughtfully, deciding to end that conversation -- he was feeling stupid enough for having taken the bait. "It's cold in this dungeon, don't you think so?" 

Wufei cuddled up to Heero. "Now that you mention it..."

Heero cuddled back happily, his arms around Wufei's waist. He caressed his side lightly, unsure how far exactly he was allowed to go. But Wufei seemed to be okay with this, so he decided that it was fine and kept on caressing his side, his touch growing bolder. He rested one hand on his hip as his other hand was wandering on Wufei's chest. Wufei was too caught up in the feeling to really pay much attention to what Heero was doing, and he didn't think to protest. His own legs were rubbing against Heero's sensually. 

They kissed, deepening it slowly, and Wufei moaned softly against Heero's mouth when he began to trace patterns over the Ravenclaw's stomach. Heero loved how Wufei allowed him to touch him --he never wanted to let go. 

The sound of a throat clearing behind them made them both jump and whirl around. 

By the door, looking dark and menacing as always, Professor Severus Snape was looking down his nose at them. 

"Indulging in a little extra curricular research?" he asked in a tone sounding bored and sarcastic all rolled into one. 

Heero was badly startled, though he didn't want to admit it. "...Merely tightening the bonds between Houses, sir," he managed to say in a cool tone, but he knew that Snape had caught the tiny hitch that betrayed his scare. 

Wufei let go of Heero, but held onto his hand tightly. He'd never dreamed that a teacher could wander there and catch them, and especially not Snape! For a second, he wanted to crawl under a rock and hide forever. He was glad Heero was accustomed to the Potions teacher; he had no clues on how to deal with the man. 

Heero got up to nod respectfully at his Head of House, even though his eyes were cold. His teacher didn't like cowards and he wasn't going to be ashamed of Wufei.

Snape sneered at him. 

"Really. I want 100 lines from both of you on my desk by tomorrow evening--If I am going to indulge in displays of emotion I will have the courtesy to do so where other people cannot see."

Heero chose not to answer that he thought people couldn't see them --he had been stupid to assume and it would only add lines to his punition. 

The professor was staring over Heero's shoulder, visibly trying to place the other student in his memory. "Chang Wufei?" he commented, vaguely surprised. One eyebrow arched sardonically, but he didn't comment. The professor shrugged and glared at the both of them. "That's 100 lines each," he added scornfully before stalking off.

Heero gave a deep sigh when the door closed soundlessly after the Potions professor and sat down heavily. Wufei stayed standing, still not knowing if he should be relieved or mortified.

"... hey, it's okay," Heero whispered to reassure his boyfriend. "He won't tell anyone else. We got the lines because we got caught, that's all." He squeezed Wufei's hand. "Next time I won't forget to lock the door and spell it, too," he added sulkily. 

Wufei shook his head. "I don't get the way your house works at all..."

He sighed then kissed Heero's cheek. "Still, its just lines, right? We aren't going to have to cancel our date."

Heero grinned, cheered up by the prospect. 

Imitating Snape's contemptuous tone, he declared, "It isn't forbidden to break the rules. What's forbidden is getting caught."

Wufei shook his head again, appalled. 

Heero sighed and looked down. "I guess I was too distracted by you to remember to lock the door," he admitted with a faint chuckle, still embarrassed. 

Wufei pulled back reluctantly. "We should be more careful. Maybe we need to find a better place? Meiran's likely to find us in the library."

Heero nodded. "It's not ideal for snogging either," he added teasingly.

"Snog?"

Heero laughed, then with no warnings, kissed Wufei suddenly, a very deep, very thorough kiss. The Ravenclaw was startled, but far from protesting, and he found it hard to pull away. 

"I'm sorry," he said apologetically. "House meeting. I have to go."

Heero gave him a disappointed look, and he felt bad, but he did have responsibilities and he has spent long enough with Heero. It wasn't as if they hadn't seen each other in weeks. 

"... wait."

Wufei paused. "Yes?"

"... Wufei... We better not give Professor Snape one reason to separate us as partners in Potions. He's going to be watching us," he explained, apologetic. "If he thinks we're distracting each other, well..." 

Wufei smiled and messed up his hair teasingly. "Oh, don't worry! I did a lot of original research for our potion, and I got it exactly right. If we don't get top marks..."

Heero smiled, and then hugged Wufei a last time before taking his hand and pulling him toward the door. 

"Let's go then. I'll walk you."

Wufei gave him a pleased smile and followed. 


	4. Damn owl

Still in search of a better title. *hint hint*

Thanks to kitty Chou for the correction ^__^

****

Chapter 4 a

----------------------------

The Main Hall, breakfast.

As every morning, the Main Hall was in chaos. Students and owls were everywhere, the students wandering around, talking with their peers, while the owls zipped all over the place delivering messages. A few ghosts floated here and there, adding to the turmoil. 

Not quite awake, Heero yawned at his food. When an unfamiliar owl landed next to him, he didn't even react. Sensing the fifth year's lack of awareness, it nibbled at his toast. The Slytherin blinked fuzzily. 

"Huh-- for me?" he asked dumbly, unused to getting letters. 

The owl dropped the letter and flew off with Heero's toast. The Slytherin gaped.

"Hey!! Damn bird!" 

He sulked for a few seconds before deciding to just take another piece, but kept on glaring at the air suspiciously in case another owl arrived.

+

Wufei was sitting at the Ravenclaw table, engaged in a heated debate over Hogwart's lack of vegetarian options when he noticed from the corner of his eye that Heero had gotten the letter, and tried to watch him without looking as though he was watching.

+

Heero took the letter and turned it over in his hands, wondering who sent it. His adoptive father, being a muggle, usually used their closest neighboring witch's owl to deliver his rare letters, and that was not her. 

'W.Chang, Dorm 5. Ravenclaw House, Hogwarts.'

Heero blinked, then hid a smile when he saw his housemates glancing at him, obviously interested by this break in his routine. He decided that he'd open it later and hid it in the folds of his robe. He kept on eating for a while until they stopped paying attention, then casually looked around the room.

+

Wufei was very interested in the debate, although his eyes did keep wandering back to Heero. In one of his sidelong glances, he met the Slytherin's eyes, who nodded at him discretely. Wufei smiled, turning back to his housemates, reassured. 

+

Heero finished eating and walked out of the great hall. He opened his letter as soon as he was in the corridor.

The paper was enchanted to look like the night sky--clouds drifting over it and all. Heero felt a fleeting smile on his lips. In silvery letters, to stand out from the background, was Wufei's message: 'The Astronomy tower is open tonight for students to catch up on lost homework, etc. It's supposed to be a good night for studying Venus--what do you think? Want to catch up on the work we missed in detention? Apart from a few 7th years, we should have the tower to ourselves.'

Heero grinned deviously, pocketed the letter again and went back to his dorm, whistling. 

Yes, I know it's ridiculously short. All a ploy to get more reviews, you see.

... Kidding, the next part will be posted soon. :P 


	5. sidestory 1

****

Sidestory One

Snape, as always, is all girl_starfish's fault, and Duo was played by my so lurvely friend Nomi! ^__^ all credit to Duo's actions and replies go to her. Heero and the crappy way the RP log was turned into a badly-paced fic are my sole responsibility. 

-------------------------------------------------------

-- Slytherin dormitory--

Seated at one of the tables of the Slytherin common room, Duo was trying to do his homework. Trying being the operative word... The braided sixth year looked at the clock and sighed in despair. He didn't have much time left before he had to meet some...friends. He decided to hurry up; he was going to be late. Quickly, he looked up a quote and wrote it in his essay, somewhat completing it, and pushed it away before pulling another book toward him for another essay. Better to have his work halfway done than have nothing at all.

Heero walked into the common room, his chest bare and carrying his robe over an arm. He dumped his things on Duo's table and began struggling with his robes. The longhaired student started when the clothes fell in his line of sight and leered his way up Heero's stomach and chest. 

"Wow. You've been working out, I see."

Heero made a face. "Ah, leave me alone," he grumbled, pulling on the robes and straightening them up. 

The sixth year Slytherin glanced at his homework, then at his watch, sighing. "I haven't got much time. You leavin'?"

Heero found a mirror and tried to comb his hair with his fingers. "Yeah. I'm going to..." he hesitated imperceptibly, "work on my Potions homework." He did want to tell his best friend the truth, but there were other people in the common room and he didn't especially want them to overhear. 

Duo looked up and narrowed his eyes. "...I get the funny feeling you're avoiding telling me something."

Behind him, sliding --or materializing maybe --out of the shadows, someone snorted. Heero froze. Not again!! He could see Duo smiling guilelessly, like he did so well. But then he'd probably seen the man coming from farther away.

"Oh, hi Professor!" the longhaired teenager exclaimed cheerfully. "It's a wonderful day, don't you think?"

Heero finally managed to look over his shoulder warily. "Hello Professor."

Appearing as noiselessly as a shadow, Snape looked down his nose at the both of them. "I personally think it's a dismal day, Maxwell, not improved by your inane chattering."

With his usual lack of common sense, Duo blabbed on. "Inane chattering makes one think harder, and since I'm doing all my homework like a good boy, I think it's helping!"

Snape ignored him, though, like every teacher learned to do sooner or later. "Did I hear you say you were working on your Potions homework, Yuy?"

Duo threw a look at Heero, wondering what was going on and if he should jump in to save him. Heero didn't look back at him, though, and nodded at the teacher, trying not to flinch. "Yes, sir."

Snape stared in silence for a few seconds. "Is it necessary to brush your hair so thoroughly for homework?"

Duo bit his lips. His pal was in trouble. "Heero likes looking nice, Professor. It's a Slytherin thing. You know?"

Heero was slowly flushing from the neck up. "Duo, shut up," he threw at his friend. He was only sinking him deeper by trying to help. 

"We should always look our best and--okay." The longhaired teenager began to nibble on his lip, thoroughly worried now. He wasn't afraid of Snape, exactly, but... the guy WAS a little freaky. And what was his problem with Heero exactly?

The teacher kept on ignoring Duo, sneering as Heero's blush confirmed his suspicions. "Cat got your tongue, Yuy?"

"It's not ...necessary, sir. But I never know who I might meet and wouldn't want to give a bad impression."

Duo nodded emphatically. Heero kicked him under the table for his trouble, ignoring his glare.

"Just as long as you get some homework done--remember, I'm watching you. If your Potions marks slip, I can easily reassign you another partner-- "

Snape decided that he'd been clear enough and stalked off to terrify more students. 

Heero dropped on a chair, whispering a "Fuck". 

Duo breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the black-clad man disappear in another room. "What the hell was that about?" he asked. He'd always felt protective of the younger boy. "Who's your partner again?"

"... um. A Ravenclaw. I doubt you know him."

Recognizing the diversion for what it was, Duo got a wicked gleam in his eye. "Who is he? I might've seen him or somethin'."

"Maybe," the messy-haired boy grumbled as he finished getting ready. 

Duo was very intrigued by the light blush still on his friend's cheeks. "So who is he?" he asked. Heero stared at him, and he blinked innocently, waiting. How he enjoyed making the younger boy squirm... 

Heero sighed --it was no use telling Duo to let go, he knew that Heero was hiding something. "Wufei Chang. Black hair, black eyes."

Duo thought hard for a moment. "...Give me more. Height?"

"About my height. Fucking hot," he added, muttering.

Duo heard that and started to grin. "Oh yeah. I know who you mean now. Has a great body?"

"Yeah, and that's MY body, got it?" the short-haired boy growled. 

Duo laughed. "Calm down! I'm just trying to see if it's the right guy. Yes, sir," he nodded playfully. "Your body. Got it."

"Yes. Mine. Not sharing. Not even with you."

Duo pouted. "No fun. So....have you nailed him yet?"

Heero glowered at him. 

"What? It's a perfectly legitimate question!"

Heero felt annoyed that he couldn't refute that. "No, I have not."

"Well, why the hell not? If it's the guy I'm thinking of, I'd nail him in an instant," he added distractedly, trying to finish up some homework before he needed to leave.

Uncharacteristically, Heero jumped on his feet and lifted his bag to hit Duo over the head. "Because.... because!" he exclaimed before realizing that he was talking too loudly and falling silent, flustered. 

"Because why?" Duo prodded before looking at his watch again and packing his books up. "Damn, I really have to go," he said as he got up. 

"... because I'd like to keep him for a while," the shorthaired boy whispered. 

Duo's eyes lighted up. "Aw, ickle Heero's in loooooove!"

Heero tried to grab Duo's braid and bash his head against a wall, but Duo darted out of his reach. "Come on, walk with me for a while. Where are you headed?" the longhaired boy asked. 

Heero grumbled, but ended up following. "Astronomy tower. Where are YOU going?"

Duo coughed. Heero still didn't know who he was shagging and he wanted to keep it that way for a while. "Quidditch pitch. So," he continued, changing the subject. "You've at LEAST made out, right?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "YES."

Duo reached out and patted the younger boy's shoulder. "Good boy. I'm proud." Heero slapped his hand off, and he laughed. "Well, I am! I taught you all I know."

Heero fidgeted. "Yeah, about that... I told him about you and me, you know, but still... Can you avoid cuddling me in public from now on?"

Duo paused a little and glanced at him. "...You're really serious about him, aren't you?"

Heero looked away. "I just don't want him thinking I'm just having fun with him or something, like that chick Hilde did. I don't want to be slapped in the grand hall like you were. That was quite the scandal," he added cattily, glancing at his friend from under his lashes to see if he'd been successfully misdirected. 

Duo blushed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah...that was...yeah. Scandal."

Just when Heero thought that they had avoided the topic of feelings, Duo reached out and took his hand for a second. "Hey. Just don't get yourself hurt, all right? I'd have to kill him," he muttered, and let go, embarrassed. Heero flushed bright red. 

"... uhm. Thanks, I guess. But it's okay, he... well. I think he does like me," he added, smiling. 

Duo grinned. It was rare to see Heero being cute. "Of course he does." He decided to change the subject, starting to feel embarrassed. "I have to really haul ass now. I'll leave you here, okay?" He looked at the clock again and swore. "DAMMIT! I'm late. They're gonna be pissed..."

"They?" Heero asked, puzzled. He'd been under the impression that Duo was going to meet his Gryff lover. 

Duo flushed darkly. "Um, no one. I'll see you later, okay?" he added over his shoulder as he left in a hurry.

Heero frowned thoughtfully, but he didn't have the time to question his friend thoroughly. "... Yeah, later." He hurried off--he was late too.


	6. The Astronomy Tower

****

Chapter Four b

---------------------------

Wufei was waiting at the bottom of the astronomy tower with a backpack and a couple of textbooks--he wanted this to look at least halfway plausible --when Heero arrived, walking casually toward him. Lost in thought, the Chinese teen didn't see him right away. Smirking, the Slytherin made his steps even more silent as he walked to him. 

"Hey, Chang," he called when he was but two steps away.

Wufei started. "Heero!"

Heero sent an amused smirk his way. Wufei grinned, before remembering to tone it down for passers by.

"I was wondering where you were." Some Ravenclaws passed as he added hastily, "Well, we've got a lot of stuff to look at, so we'd better start--"

He led Heero up the tower, away from his Housemates. 

"Sorry I was late, I was detained," Heero explained as he followed him up the stairs. 

"Not your housemates again?"

"Professor Snape."

Wufei froze for a second. "Snape? Why? Not because-- "

Heero rolled his eyes. "He heard me telling Duo I was going to work on my Potions homework. Of course he knows who my partner is."

"...Oh."

Anxious, Wufei reached out to hold Heero's hand. "You think he'll keep us from working together? Did he give you a lecture, or just a warning?"

Heero squeezed Wufei's hand back reassuringly. "He just said he expected the essay to be exceptionally good, since I was spending so much more time on it than my fellow students, and he left. And then I had to explain to Duo why he had told me that," he added with a shrug.

"What--how did Duo react?"

The Slytherin flushed. "He was proud that I was growing up. Moron," he grumbled, embarrassed. 

Wufei smiled, squeezing Heero's hand. "He didn't mind that I wasn't Slytherin, then?"

Heero shook his head no, laughing. "He's shagging a Gryff these days."

"Seriously? How on earth are they managing that?"

"Not a clue."

Wufei squeezed Heero's hand again once as they reached the top of the tower.

"I think he likes the challenge the most," Heero said, amused.

"Is that so?" Wufei commented noncommittally when they arrived within earshot of the witch overseeing the use of the tower. The Ravenclaw nodded politely at her and led Heero towards a telescope in a far corner, partially screened from the rest of the tower by a crumbling chimney. A bed of moss and ivy leaves cushioned the corner. There were a few anxious looking 7th years, but they were all studying the orbit of something that could only be seen on the opposite side of the tower.

Heero followed obediently, glad that the folds of their robes hid their joined hands. He didn't want to let go. Wufei's hand fit well in his own. 

Wufei put the textbooks down and started pulling a blanket out of his backpack. "Perfect."

Heero smirked faintly at him, amused. "You came prepared, eh?"

Wufei nodded towards the witch on duty. "And Professor Sinistra usually falls asleep too."

Heero snorted. "So underhanded. So Slytherin."

Wufei sat down on the blanket, patting the space beside him. "Merely doing background research, my dear Heero."

The messy-haired boy sat down, his knee touching Wufei's. 

"You ever wondered why we're in the houses we're in? I mean, we're not so different--it can't be that one trait is so dominant that it will determine the rest of our lives--and the houses are always fairly evenly split."

"Mm... I think it's also what you want to do with your life. Some Slytherin are in this house because they're ambitious or underhanded, which are Slytherin traits. And a few of the Slytherin are there because they have pure blood, but they could have been elsewhere. But they're expected to be like their parents and live in the high society with its flowery insults and subtle ways of assassinating people, and all that Pureblood bullshit..." he added with a shrug. "So they get placed into Slytherin, because that's the House that will arm them the best for their life."

"I guess--I don't believe it's the big deal its made out to be, that's for sure," Wufei muttered.

"Heh. Duo swears to me the Hat thought about putting him in Gryffindor, but he refused because it would be boring."

"Yeah?"

Heero nodded. "And that Granger girl, I bet she'd be a good Ravenclaw."

Wufei nodded. "I've often wondered about that. I think she had her mind made up before she took the tests. From reading Hogwarts: A History, no doubt. And there's a rumor that the sorting hat wanted to put Harry Potter in Slytherin--which has to be made up I bet."

Heero shrugged. "Well, they did say he was his heir too, and all sorts of bullshit. I don't really listen to the rumors on Potter, they always sound like they're straight out of one of Skeeter's articles."

Having said all that could be said on the subject, Wufei settled against Heero's shoulder, looking up at the sky.

"Stars are bright, aren't they?"

"...yeah..."

"It's a pity we're not here for homework. We could do a really neat star chart tonight--"

Heero laughed. 

"I like your laugh," Wufei confided, giving him a tiny smile. 

Heero flushed. "Oh?"

Shyly, he rested his head against Wufei's. 

"Yeah. Some of the time--when, you're being all Slytherin like, I can't figure you out. It makes me uneasy. But when you laugh like that--its like the real you," he added, kissing his cheek softly. 

Heero squirmed, embarrassed. "Well, I AM a Slytherin. I mean... I don't act." 

"Actually, real you is probably wrong. And I know. I'm just explaining it badly," Wufei said at the same time.

"Um... maybe I force it out more to make you squirm, and-- ah." he stammered, flushing.

Wufei kissed him again for being cute. "By the way, overanalyzing everything seems to be a Ravenclaw trait. So feel free to tell me to quit it."

Heero nibbled playfully on his boyfriend's shoulder. "Quit it."

Wufei chuckled and kissed Heero a little more seriously, wrapping his arms snugly around his shoulders. 

"Mmm... I missed you. It's only been what, two days?

Heero smiled. "Long enough. I missed you too. Wish we were in the same dorm..."

Wufei chuckled. "Like there would be any chance of us keeping this secret in the same dorm..." He cuddled against Heero. "How did you and Duo manage?"

"Well, we really were just friends, you know. So we never slipped and no one got suspicious. It was just when we happened to be alone and in the mood. We didn't search for occasions."

Wufei nodded thoughtfully, and Heero slid his arm around his waist to hug him closer. 

"I'm not taking time away from your friends, am I?" the Ravenclaw asked. 

Heero shook his head. "We're sleeping in the same room and eating at the same table, we have the exact same classes, I think I see them enough."

"Good point."

They cuddled for a moment in silence before Wufei remembered the contents of his pack. 

"Oh, you want some snacks? Mei went to Hogsmeade today, I forget why--she had a dentist's appointment, or something. She brought me back stuff from Honeyduke's."

Heero blinked. "You even thought about snacks?"

"Like I said, I did my homework. Here's some butterbeer," he added as he offered Heero a bottle.

"Well," Heero smirked, "she's good for something at least."

"Yeah, Mei can be really sweet sometimes," the Ravenclaw answered, choosing not to respond to the derision in Heero's voice. Sure his cousin was annoying, but she was his cousin. 

Heero snorted. "Sometimes.. ha."

"Well, she can," Wufei protested. "She offered to give me her broomstick once--she has a really nice broom, by the way," he added, wanting to show Heero that she had her good sides. 

The Slytherin looked dubious, and Wufei sighed. 

"...No wait--that was because she broke mine by throwing it at me."

Heero rolled his eyes. "She-- no, I'm not saying anything."

To change the subject, Wufei rummaged through the bag of sweets and passed it to Heero before cuddling close. "So--"

Heero munched on his sweet, eyes half-closed in pleasure, his hand running over Wufei's side gently. The black-haired boy sighed and tilted his head back to watch the stars.

"Just so you know, I'm completely happy right now," the Ravenclaw whispered.

Heero nodded, hugging him briefly. 

"Know what you want to do in Hogsmeade?" Wufei asked, idly playing with his boyfriend's fingers. 

"... not really, but we'll find something. Or we could even just take a walk together..."

Wufei considered the problem. "...101 ways to make out in Hogwarts might have some suggestions."

Heero blinked. "WHAT?"

"Oh, of course. You're not in Ravenclaw," Wufei exclaimed as he started sorting through the backpack. "You ever heard of a journal exchange?"

The Slytherin rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me..."

Not answering, Wufei handed Heero what was apparently a battered copy of 'A Brief History of magic', tapped it with his wand and said: "Thrill me."

Heero rolled his eyes again, but he couldn't help but smile.

"I don't know who originally started it, but its been handed down from fifth year to fifth year for years," Wufei commented as he gave Heero the book. 

Heero looked through the pages, his eyes turning more and more incredulous. "I can't believe this. You made a GUIDE on how to snog at Hogwarts?"

"Well, it's not really how to so much as how to do it and not get caught. Good places to go and all."

The messy-haired boy couldn't help but laugh, and had to put a hand across his own mouth not to attract attention.

"It also has some suggestions for romantic outings, love potions, good gifts if you're broke and even a quick spell incase you've forgotten to bring lube."

Heero fidgeted and avoided Wufei's eyes. "... uhh. I know that one. ...As for love potions, they're strictly forbidden, you know," he added, hoping to change the subject.

"I didn't think you and Duo had got that far? And I know about the potions. I think the reason they were forbidden was this book."

"We didn't. But he taught me the spell anyway," he added with a shrug. "We all know it in Slytherin, from third year at least."

"And you thought I was early..."

"Hey! We learn it just in case! I wasn't saying we used it. ...Well, not all of us," he mumbled.

"Well, its not as if we'll need it. I packed two kinds--" Wufei decided it would be a good idea to shut up.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing."

Heero nuzzled Wufei's cheek, feeling the heated skin betraying his blush.

"Two kinds of?"

"Oh, isn't that Orion!?"

Heero poked Wufei's ribs. "You've begun your sentence, now end it."

Wufei stuck his tongue out. "Make me."

Heero tickled him, and the Ravenclaw doubled up, trying not to laugh and attract attention.

"Tell me..." the Slytherin whispered in his ear, tickling him twice as fast.

Wufei struggled, but to no avail. He couldn't escape Heero's hands. The only result was that his robes were askew and that he was even more out of breath.

"Two kinds of?" Heero asked, forcing Wufei on his back and threatening him with his wriggling fingers. 

"Okay. fine. Twokindsoflubenotthatyouneededtoknowthat," he muttered rapidly, his skin pinkish.

Heero blinked owlishly as he translated that, flushed a little when he understood, then leered. "Oh, really."

Wufei nodded reluctantly. "Can I get up now?"

Heero shook his head slowly and leaned on one elbow, hovering over Wufei.

Wufei caught his breath, looking up at Heero who was watching him. "You're my prisoner," he whispered in a soft, but intense voice. 

"Complaining that it's typical Slytherin, won't help me will it?" asked Wufei, not sounding as though he was really complaining. He put a hand up to brush Heero's hair back, and Heero kissed his palm, his stormy blue eyes still staring into his own. 

Heero leaned down until their noses were brushing, slowly. Wufei was breathless. He didn't move, waiting for Heero's next move. 

The Slytherin brushed his lips against Wufei's very slowly, taking his time, and Wufei moaned, surrendering himself entirely to the soft kiss. He was hungry for more of Heero, tried to coax him into deepening the kiss. Heero did deepen it, but not as fast as Wufei wanted it, enjoying being in control.

Wufei moaned again, a mixture of desire and impatience. "Heero..."

Heero chuckled as he finally deepened the kiss, enjoying making Wufei squirm. 

"Heero..." he moaned plaintively. Searching for a way to get Heero to hurry up, he brushed Heero's thigh. The Slytherin let himself lean closer, moaning into Wufei's mouth when their chests finally met. He slid his leg over Wufei's thighs in a gentle caress and straddled him, trying not to rest his whole weight on the Ravenclaw. 

Wufei's hands slid under Heero's robe to wrap around his shoulders and pull him closer, and Heero made a sound that reminded of a purr. 

"So.. lube, eh? My little pervert," he laughed, kissing Wufei's jaw. 

Wufei was torn between protesting that and encouraging Heero to kiss him more. He finally settled for tilting his neck back while complaining. "Nothing wrong with being prepared..."

Heero began to drop kisses all over Wufei's neck. "You're horny," he laughed. "We haven't been together that long. Pervert."

Wufei was effectively distracted. "You don't think so?" he managed to ask. "I mean, I agree, it is sudden but the way you kiss me-- I mean, I hardly know what I want-- mmm, do that more."

Heero laughed against Wufei's skin and nibbled on his throat teasingly, very much amused. 

"I never felt this way with Ernie, you know," Wufei mused. 

Heero chuckled. "So you're horny for me" he answered, making his fingers walk a path down Wufei's chest teasingly.

"I mean, there was no reason to hurry--but with you I want everything at once. I just don't know that I'm ready for it."

"We're not going to do more than make out now and here," Heero answered in a soft voice. "I want more, too, but it's still too soon."

Wufei smiled at Heero tenderly, playing with his hair. "I really like you, you know?" he admitted softly. 

Heero smiled back at him. "Now that's good to know," he answered, caressing Wufei's chest through his clothes. 

They cuddled in silence for long minutes, Wufei stroking Heero's hair and Heero nuzzling his shoulder and jaw. Heero was happy with it, though his body would have liked more. But Wufei was too important to rush it. 

They were both startled out of the intimate mood when a gong sounded loudly.

"It can't be that late--we just got here!" Wufei protested. 

Heero cursed. Then, resigning himself to the inevitable, he kissed Wufei a last time before getting up. 

"Come on, boyfriend. Best not get a punition again." 

Wufei tapped the '101 ways' book with his wand and said "was it good for you?" before putting it away. Heero wanted to laugh at the password and never knew how he managed not to. THAT was a Ravenclaw password? 

"I guess I'll see you in Hogsmeade. You want to meet at the Post Office? There should be less people there than in Honeyduke's..." Wufei asked, before noticing Heero's expression and adding, "I didn't think of them."

Heero chuckled. "Of course," he assured him. "I just like you saying them. You sound so naughty," he deadpanned. 

Heero took Wufei's hand and pulled him toward the stairs. 

"Do you have an owl?" the Ravenclaw asked. Heero shook his head. 

"I use the school owls."

"I was just wondering--if you want to get a message to me quickly, mine usually knows where I am. His name is Tolkien. He thinks you fed him, so he likes you."

The Slytherin snorted. "Fed him? He stole my toast!"

"Yeah. He's kind of ... like that," Wufei coughed guiltily. "Scotty swears he ate his Arithmancy homework once. Which is frankly impossible."

They arrived in sight of the witch and Heero quieted his laugh and let go of Wufei's hand regretfully, walking casually past her and down the stairs. There were a few students around and he couldn't risk it. 

Wufei followed closely, alternating between happy because this meant he got to look at Heero's butt, and sad because they would be saying goodbye soon. Finally, they arrived at the bottom of the stairs, and exchanged a sad look.

"The weekend seems such a long way away," Wufei sighed, disappointed. Heero nodded. It had gone way too fast. He didn't want it to be finished just yet.

Heero looked right and left, then pulled Wufei in a corner and kissed him silly. Caught by surprise, the other boy couldn't help but squeak, but soon recovered enough to kiss back, passionately. But someone was coming and too soon, they had to pull away. 

They exchanged a guilty look, cheeks flushed. 

"Um, I don't mind walking you towards the dungeons--we can discuss the project as we do--" Wufei said, trying for casual, and started walking. There were more people about and it was hard to think of safe things to talk about. He settled for discussing Potions, though it was the thing farthest from his mind just now. 

They reached the turn for the dungeons too soon, and stopped in front of each other at the door, lost in each other's eyes.

"Well... goodnight," the Slytherin whispered softly, sadly.

Suddenly, Wufei pressed Heero against a wall and kissed him. Surprised, Heero soon abandoned himself to him. The Ravenclaw put his hand on his chest, just over his heart, then drew back to look at his face a moment.

"Sweet dreams..." he whispered, before turning to walk back to the Ravenclaw tower.

"Good night, Wufei..." the Slytherin murmured, nearly to softly to be heard. 

Alone finally, Heero went back to his dorm. 

"... I' know what I'll dream of."

------------------------------------


	7. The Forbidden Forest

Authors: Asuka Kureru and girl_starfish

Series: Gundam Wing main characters in the Harry Potter world.

Pairing: 1x5x1. Yes, that's Wufei and Heero. Brainy!Ravenclaw!Wufei and Cunning!Slytherin!Heero to be precise. 

Warnings: **ANGST!!! ** We decided that the story was too fluffy. And... well. It still turned fluffy toward the end, dammit. Except not really. Muahahahaha.

****

Chapter Five

-------------------------------------

*Slytherin Dungeons*

It was after the evening meal and Heero was bored. He'd wanted to see Wufei but he had tons of homework so he had to cancel... only to discover that they had worked so much to have a legitimate excuse to be together that he'd finished in a third of the time he thought he'd need. In result, he was now with nothing to do and his boyfriend was probably off doing something else... 

The Slytherin common room was dank and dark as always when Heero walked out of his dorm room. The few candles barely illuminated the room—but enough to see a small group clustered around a guy in a corner. He was obviously gloating about something, and Heero paused in the shadows, to assess the situation and gather as much information as possible. 

Avery's voice rose a little over the crowd to make sure that other people would hear. "Well, I'm not saying that it was a prank worthy of a Malfoy-- But Chang has to be one of the hardest people to fool in this school..." he bragged, giving said Malfoy --sitting in another corner with his own court-- a smug look. 

Heero froze. ... Chang? Which Chang? Cho, Meiran.. or his Wufei? Meiran wasn't that hard to fool as an average, but anything bearing the seal of Slytherin would have her go stiff with suspicion... No one wanted to play pranks on Cho; she was sexy and friendly...

That meant HIS Chang. But why did Avery resent him so damn much? He already picked on him during classes... 

"How'd you do it anyway? I mean, everyone knows that going in the Forbidden Forest is like instant expulsion ... if you're not killed."

... Forbidden Forest?

Avery answered in a smug and oily voice. "It was almost ridiculously easy ... I've been watching him a while--he's had this coming for a while. And I knew that it was useless trying to get him to do something like this-- Ravenclaws are almost as bad as Gryffindors at breaking rules." There, the bastard laughed. "Then Yuy managed to make friends with him."

Heero stiffened up. He had dared to use him to trick Wufei into doing something so stupid and dangerous? 

"Dunno how he managed it, but he got Chang used to it, so when he got my note--"

An awed first year gaped at him. "So he's going to the Forbidden Forest?"

"He's there now. I saw him head that way myself," the bastard snickered. 

From his corner, Draco Malfoy snorted disdainfully and gave him a superior smirk. "Friends? You're blind, Avery. I happen to have a very good idea of why he trusted Yuy's word so easily."

Heero was seeing red.

Avery glared, annoyed at being snubbed. "Well, if you're so smart, why don't you tell us?"

"If he's smart he'll keep his mouth shut," Heero stated as he walked out of the shadows. 

As Avery turned to face him, Heero smiled at him urbanely, and then kneed him in the crotch hard. The other teen gulped for air and collapsed. 

"Why use a spell when a minimal physical exertion can do it for you, right?" he commented. He was seething, but managed to control it to look calm and unruffled. He couldn't look weak or overly concerned now. "You are going to ruin what I've worked for so long, Avery. I hope your pitiful attempt at a prank was worth what I'll do to you."

"Right," Malfoy commented, smirking. "I'd start packing Yuy--if Chang is still able to speak when he's found he'll tell them that it was your note which sent him into the forest." The white-blond Slytherin got up gracefully and glided off to gloat, well satisfied. 

Heero gave Malfoy a warning glare --that the other teenager ignored-- then kicked Avery in the stomach, watching him vomit on the floor with disinterest. "You aren't even worth a spell." 

The other students decided that the show was over and went back either to homework or to gossiping -- pardon, assessing the shifts in power. 

Heero walked out of the common room calmly, then as soon as he was sure that no one could see him, began to run like hell. Wufei may be in danger! Why didn't he realize that Heero wasn't stupid enough to propose this?! 

'... oh, wait. Because we're running out of places to meet where we won't risk an interruption by Snape or Filch.' 

The halls were nearly empty after the evening meal, and he only had to avoid a few prefects and a Quidditch team coming back from practice. He managed to get out of the castle, using a secret passage that was only secret for the staff and the first year-- it was already night outside so the castle would be closing its doors soon and he didn't want people to go after him.

A lone Gryffindor girl was coming towards the castle from the Quidditch fields, carrying her broom disconsolately. Heero swore and looked around for a place to hide, but there wasn't any. And where was Wufei supposed to be? He'd never have the time to run the entire length of the edge of the forest... 

"What are you doing?" the girl asked, waving her broom at Heero. "You shouldn't be outside the castle at this time--"

He stared at her for a second, recognizing Meiran with surprise. But he didn't have time to chat with her, and she was still waving her broom under his nose-- wait. "Good idea, thank you!!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the broom. 

"Eh?... Hey!"

Tearing it out of her hand easily, the Slytherin jumped on it and kicked off the ground, dashing away. 

"Come back here! I'm telling McGonagall on you!" she yelled, but he wouldn't have listened even if he still had been close enough. 

Heero arrived to the north edge of the Forest and slowed down. He looked through the trees, flying low-- weirdly, there was a lot of light, so he could see fairly well, but it was in his favor so he didn't question it.

There was a thin tendril of smoke drifting up through the trees--but that was well inside the forest. Heero's eyes narrowed. He couldn't see Wufei anywhere. He wondered what the smoke was about, but that may have been Hagrid doing something weird again.

... though he had the most awful feeling of foreboding...

A howl echoed through the forest. Heero froze and stopped the broom, shivering all over--he'd just realized that he could see so well because the moon was full. 

"WUFEI!!!"

He zipped through the top of the highest trees toward the smoke, as fast as he could push the broom. 

+

Wufei was kneeling in the middle of a ring of magical fire, in a clearing--his clothes were torn and blackened with soot. He was pale from the effort of keeping the flames both up and far enough away that he didn't get burnt... but any time his focus wavered the thing in the shadows came a bit closer.

"WUFEI!!!" the Slytherin screamed, plunging toward the ground. At the last second, he straightened the broom and stopped, scraping the grass slightly. 

Incredulous, Wufei took a second to react. 

"Jump on!!!"

Wufei threw his arms around Heero's waist. The flames fell as he lost his concentration, and the thing lurking in the shadows growled and raced towards them. Heero had to whip his wand out and cast a fireball at the beast jumping at them, unbalancing the broom. Wufei managed to angle it up, reaching around the other teenager's body, aiming for above tree level. The beast yelped and fell back just as they shot upwards, and its howls of rage followed them out of the forest. As he helped Wufei steer the broom, Heero couldn't help but feel grateful that Meiran had such good quality gear. The sound the beast made still gave him shivers. 

Wufei leaned against Heero's back, completely exhausted. His hands, looped around Heero's waist, were burnt, but he didn't notice. 

Heero landed them close to the castle, in a patch of light. Wufei stumbled, falling as the broom landed. His boyfriend jumped off the broom and knelt at Wufei's side. His eyes widened even more when he noticed his shaking. 

"Wufei! Oh, gods, are you okay?" he asked, caressing his hair with a trembling hand. 

"I think so," the black-haired teen managed to answer. His voice was raspy from the smoke he had inhaled. 

Heero pulled him into a tight embrace. "Oh gods..." 

"I think I sprained my ankle running--I can't stand," Wufei commended dazedly. 

"I'm going to KILL Avery," Heero growled back, venom in his voice.

"Avery?"

"The fucktard thought it would be funny to send you a note in my name," he snarled. No, no, it wasn't the time to let his vengeful side take control, he reminded himself firmly. He had to take care of Wufei. "...Come on, we need to get you to the infirmary."

The Ravenclaw stared at his boyfriend, unmoving. 

"You mean the entire time I was out there almost getting killed you were here?!"

Heero gave him a wounded look. "I didn't know, ok?"

"The only reason I went into the forest was that I thought you were in danger--I can get to the infirmary myself," he said with irritation as he tried to get up without his help. 

"... Let me help you..." the Slytherin pleaded as he reached out toward him. 

Wufei put his hand out to Heero, resigned, and let the boy help him up. He was grateful for the arm Heero pulled around his own shoulders to keep him on his feet. He was limping badly on one foot--and his other was dragging badly.

"Maybe the broom--"

"... You think you can ride?" he asked dubiously. The Ravenclaw nodded, so Heero reached for the broom, ordering it up firmly. 

Shakily, Wufei sat on the broom, pulling back his sleeves to hold it properly. Heero saw the state of Wufei's hands and gasped. They were burned all over! He grabbed a wrist to look at his palm better, too startled to care that he was making his boyfriend wince. 

"... What happened to your hands?" he demanded, hissing in sympathy. 

"I ... It was getting harder to keep the fire going--" Wufei muttered. Now that he was thinking about them, they were starting to hurt. "I didn't even notice--I was more worried about my ankle. And I lost my other sneaker."

"What happened to your ankle?" Heero asked, and then sighed. "Come on, I'm carrying you."

Wufei blinked. 

"Whatever happened, I'm not letting you make it worse. And you can't hold on to the broom with your hands."

The Ravenclaw supposed that there was no alternative. When Heero reached out hesitantly, he put his arm over his shoulders. He hissed as the Slytherin brushed a previously undiscovered injury while picking him up. Heero shifted him worriedly, then kicked the broom in a bush and left for the infirmary. The black-haired student leaned against him, shutting his eyes-- this had all been too long and intense --

Soon, they were at the infirmary, and Heero was kicking the doors open. 

"Madam Pomfrey!!!"

The witch turned toward them, voice stern. "There are people trying to sleep--oh my--over here, quickly."

Heero hurried to the bed she was pointing at and put him down very carefully. 

"What happened?" she asked, already looking the injured teenager over. 

"... I don't know, I-- there was a fire-- and some beast... Wufei?" He nudged him when he didn't answer. "Wufei, where are you hurt?" he asked again, and turned to Pomfrey. "He says his ankle hurts, and his hands are burned, and he jumped when I touched his back..."

Wufei finally managed to answer. "My hands and my ankle--I fell a couple of times."

"What were you doing?" she asked, sounding mildly irritated. 

"Don't you think that you should treat him first?" the Slytherin asked, not feeling up to answering that just now. 

"We have to get him out of his cloak first--that might help us ascertain his injuries," she commented as she set down bottles and jars. "You--Heero Yuy? You can help me."

Heero nodded and undid the cloak's clasp, caressing Wufei's hair discretely as he removed it. Wufei let him, unmoving --it was something of a relief to have people taking care of him. The cloak was obviously unsalvageable. It was torn in places and burnt rather badly, and the clothes underneath weren't in a much better state, but they had managed to protect Wufei from most things--all the scratches and burns were on his hands and the places where the cloak was torn.

Heero helped Wufei out of the uniform carefully, trying not to get in the way of the nurse who was already putting salve on his hands. Wufei's legs were the most concern though--one leg of his trousers was thick with blood and stuck fast to his skin and Heero wasn't sure how to remove that. 

"Don't touch that--if it's dried you may open the wound again," Pomfrey ordered calmly. She tapped it with her wand and the cloth dissolved into nothing. Heero wondered when he'd get to learn this spell. It would be damn useful.

"I want you to--very gently mind you-- wipe the blood away, so we can see exactly where he is hurt," she said as she gave Heero a cloth and a basin. "How are you feeling? Not going to pass out?" she asked Wufei. 

He shook his head. "I'm okay," he assured her. He was looking a little ill though. 

Heero was cleaning the blood away as softly as a caress. There was a lot of it, and he was worried. He grew even more worried as Wufei leaned into him, resting his forehead on his shoulder. It wasn't like him to do that in front of someone else. 

Having finished applying ointment to the burns, Madam Pomfrey put a bandage over them. "That salve should have your hands healed by tomorrow--the bandage is just to make sure you don't aggravate them while you sleep," she explained as she turned to the leg, greatly concerned by the extent of the injury. 

By now, the Slytherin was patting dry what looked like a series of holes. She drew in a sharp intake of breath that made both students look at her. 

"Yuy, I think I better handle this. But bring me the book on that shelf there--the brown one." The nurse put her hand on Wufei's shoulder and pushed him back against the pillow. "Just lie back--you've lost a lot of blood, you'll want to rest as much as possible."

Heero frowned and nodded, obeying quickly. He wanted to be as close to Wufei as possible.

When he turned back to them and had his first look of the scene from a distance, Heero was struck by how pale Wufei was, and how his skin was glistening with sweat. He was going to KILL Avery.

Pomfrey took the book and flipped through it to a page labeled 'Magical Beasts: Their Bites and the Treatment Thereof'. "Where was he?" she asked as she read through the volume. 

Heero winced. "... The Forbidden Forest," he admitted in a whisper. There wasn't a choice if he wanted Wufei to be treated right. 

"Naturally," she responded, pursing her lips.

"It wasn't his fault! Someone played a stupid... _prank_ on him!" he protested, but she wasn't listening anymore. 

"We can deal with that later--this is a bit more serious that a punishment for being out of bounds."

".. More serious?"

She paid him no mind. "Yuy, could you take this note-- "Heero's eyes turned to the bedside table where one was writing itself and folding itself neatly, "to Dumbledore, Snape--and I suppose we'll need to inform his Head of House as well. Ravenclaw right?"

"That's Professor Flitwick," Heero nodded as he took the note, his brain running at full speed to understand how exactly it could be serious enough that a punishment forgoing to the Forbidden Forest would be irrelevant.

Softly, Wufei whispered, "Is Heero going to be in trouble?"

"Of course not, pet," she answered absently, looking his wounds over once again. "Now drink the potion beside you."

Heero gave Wufei's wound a worried look. What the hell was this about? 

"I thought I told you to go?" Pomfrey reminded him in a stern voice. "Be quick, please."

He sighed and gave Wufei a tender look before leaving. 

When the door closed after him, Wufei sipped the potion obediently, and found himself asleep before he'd even realized that it was a sleeping potion. 

---------------------------------------

*Slytherin Dungeon--Snape's rooms*

Professor Snape was marking student's essays--he was on the Gryffindor side of the class and there were a lot of very sarcastic comments being made, so he was in one of his better moods-- when one of his students, fifth year Heero Yuy barged in, out of breath. He looked up, annoyed. 

"Yuy? What is the meaning of this--"

"Professor!" the boy exclaimed unnecessarily as he reached out to give him a note, panting. "Madam Pomfrey needs you..."

Snape opened it and went immediately from annoyed to grim. "I see. Have you already been to Dumbledore?"

"Not yet, sir," he answered, trying not to panic, "I figured Madam Pomfrey needed you first." He hadn't realized right away that calling for Snape proved that it was very serious. He desperately wanted to ask, but the way his Head of House was muttering uncomplimentary things under his breath--

"No time for an owl--" he heard Snape mutter, and that was enough prompting. 

"... sir-- what's so wrong that she can't deal with it alone?" he asked, keeping his voice low for fear of ending up pleading.

"Let me think," Snape cut him off. "In the meantime, pick up that trunk there--the small one."

There was no discussing with that tone of voice, so he went to fetch the trunk, still thinking well enough to do it carefully. He wouldn't get answers. 

His teacher was pulling books off a shelf, still muttering to himself. "Luckily I was prepared for this and kept all the ingredients together ... "He dropped the books into the bag and tapped the trunk to make it float, then threw a look at his student. "Fetch Dumbledore," he ordered, giving Heero the note back, still open. "Tell him to hurry."

He set off towards the infirmary with all his gear, and then paused. "Yuy, when you've told Dumbledore come back here. I'll want a medium sized cauldron, 3 small vials, a testube and a--do you know what a syringe is?"

"Yes, sir. I'll remember," he answered dutifully, and ran off to find Dumbledore. Snape continued to the infirmary, his black robes billowing after him in his haste.

On the way to Dumbledore's office, Heero decided to glance at the note-- it couldn't hurt really, he wanted answers and it was open already, and the reaction of his head of House had scared him. 

__

Pupil found in forest with what is almost certainly a lycanthrope bite. 

Ravenclaw, Chang Wufei. Please come to the infirmary as quickly as possible.

The Slytherin stumbled. The beast had been a werewolf?!

An old but strong hand landed on his shoulder, keeping him up. "You should watch your feet, my boy," Dumbledore smiled down at him. 

Heero looked up, eyes wide. "... p-professor..." he stammered as he gave him the note. His hands were shaking.

The twinkle in Dumbledore's eye disappeared as he read it. "I'll go immediately. You have told professor Snape?"

Heero nodded dutifully. "Yes sir. He asked me to fetch things for him--then I am to get Professor Flitwick."

"Good," the wizard nodded, patting his shoulder soothingly. "Carry on."

As if that had been a signal, Heero dashed off toward to the dungeons. Refusing to think just yet, he spent his brainpower remembering and gathering everything Snape had asked for, then ran out again. He crossed paths with a few of his housemates, but didn't stop to even glance at them. 

On the way to the Ravenclaw tower, he ran into the Head Girl, and before she could launch into a sermon about the rules, asked her to go fetch Professor Flitwick. His tone must have been urgent enough, because she didn't protest.

When he arrived at the Infirmary, Snape was waiting by the door. "There you are," he commented as he took the cauldron and the other things quickly, sweeping back inside the infirmary. 

Heero stepped forward as if to follow him, and his teacher eyed him coldly. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I want to see Wufei, sir," he answered, glaring back. He didn't want him to notice that at this moment he could very easily cry.

"I'm afraid that's completely out of the question," the teacher answered. "Besides which," he added in a strangely sympathetic voice, "he's sleeping now."

Heero clenched his fists hard and lowered his head, forcing himself to ask the desperate question that had plagued him since he had read the note. 

"... you can help, right, sir? It's not too late--" he stuttered, not even trying to hide his shaking anymore.

There was a moment of silence, then... "Perhaps you'd better go back to the common room and rest, Yuy. You look rather worn out."

"...That's a no, isn't it," the student stated, shoulders slumping.

He couldn't lose it in front of Snape. He couldn't. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "... sir."

The Potions Master nodded to Heero, dismissing him, and shut the door to the Infirmary firmly. 

Heero punched the wall, hard enough that he could pretend that the tears pooling on his eyelashes were from the pain. 

He was going to kill Avery. Now. 

He stalked back toward the dormitories, wand out. 


	8. Chapter Six

****

Chapter Six

------------------------------

*A few days later*

For fear of a bad reaction to the bite, Wufei had been monitored carefully in the infirmary, but now that the full moon was over, the danger seemed to have passed. His cuts and bruises were almost healed, the burns only pinkish marks fast fading on his skin. He would stay at least a week longer, though, but that was mostly because it would take time to take care of the accommodations. 

Heero slid in the infirmary dormitory, cautious. It was the first time that he could visit since the night of the full moon. Wufei's family had been there for a long time, preventing him from going inside, but at last they'd left. 

He hadn't expected Snape to give him a permission slip to miss a class and visit-- but then the man knew precisely how close they truly were. 

Wufei was sleeping, and the Slytherin stared at him for a long time. He was a little pale, but otherwise looked normal. Heero stepped closer hesitantly. Wufei looked so ordinary, he couldn't believe that his boyfriend was now a werewolf, one of those Dark creatures-- no, he was still the same, apart from three nights a month. He was still the same. Like Professor Lupin. The guy was a fairly calm bloke all the time.

Wufei stirred slightly, newly heightened senses telling him that someone was there. 

The black-haired boy blinked sleepy eyes at Heero--now that they were open, it was apparent he'd been crying, as they were red-rimmed and puffy. 

"Oh, Wufei--" Heero whispered as he went to his side and took his hand. "I'm so sorry." He had to swallow back a sob, hit hard by the horror of the accident. 

Wufei clung to Heero, and the Slytherin leaned forward to kiss him, brushing Wufei's lips with his own softly. 

The Ravenclaw wiped his eyes discretely, as if hoping to hide the trace of his tears. A bit embarrassed, Heero pretended not to notice. Wufei had a death grip on his's arm, and he winced a little--his boyfriend was stronger than Heero had anticipated--but didn't say anything. Wufei wasn't pulling away from Heero, but he wasn't leaning into the kiss either and Heero wasn't sure of what was wrong exactly. 

"You know? They told you?" he asked, miserable. 

"... I know," Heero admitted. "I-- looked at the message from Madam Pomfrey to Professor Snape. ... How do you feel?"

Wufei had a humorless laugh. "Like my whole world is going to fall apart. I'm a monster--when the rest of my dorm finds out-- or did you mean how am I feeling?" he asked, trying to calm down. "I--the burns are gone. And I think my ankle is better, but they won't let me out of bed to check."

Heero caressed Wufei's hair gently. "You're not a monster. You have a disease. That doesn't change who you are."

Wufei snorted, or maybe it was an aborted sob. "You know the thing in the forest? That almost killed me? That's what I am."

Heero winced. "Only a few nights a month," he opposed quietly. He hugged Wufei tight, climbing on the bed to lie against him, and Wufei cuddled back desperately. "The rest of the time, you're Wufei. My boyfriend," he finished as he kissed his cheek. 

Wufei gave him a hopeful look. "You really think that? I mean--you still want to be ...?"

This time, it was Wufei's lips that Heero kissed. "Why would I be here otherwise? What happened isn't your fault-- if any, it's probably mine. Though in all honesty I'm tempted to say that it's Avery's fault," he added, spitting the name. 

Wufei put his arms around Heero, holding him close. "You smell like dust and dried parchment and--Flitwick's classroom?" he asked quietly. Heero nodded, wondering how he could tell.

"He--Professor Flitwick-- came in before to try and find out why I was in the woods."

"... What did you tell him?" the short-haired boy asked.

"I told him what you said--that Avery sent me a note as a prank and I was worried about you being in the Forest."

Heero nodded quietly.

"They're not going to punish me--I'm going to miss Halloween and everything, so..."

Wufei sighed again, and Heero tightened his hold on him in response. But it wasn't enough to make him feel better...

In a cold, detached voice, he announced: "I hear Avery had a _regrettable_ incident involving a suit of armor. And a regrettable incident involving moving stairs and the almost falling headfirst thereof. Oh, and yet another regrettable incident involving a potion. Apparently he couldn't tell a revitalizing potion from a purging potion."

"Jerk," snorted Wufei. "He was in here overnight, during which time he managed to fall into a bedpan."

Heero smirked briefly, amused, but it didn't last. "I wonder if he'll get punished."

"Hmm. He was trying to act like he didn't really think I would go to the forest--moron."

The Slytherin scowled. "Like hell he didn't think you'd go. I heard him boast about how you were going there and how he was so intelligent-- uhm. Did I tell you about that unfortunate incident involving his crotch and my knee?"

Wufei arched an eyebrow, vindicated. "No. Please do."

"Oh, nothing much. He just managed to get his hair caught in my hand and somehow lost his balance on my knee-- which was rising, might I add. By the way, your cousin wants to kill me. It's her broom that I stole and I can't remember in which bush I put it."

Wufei smiled softly. "She was in here this morning. I don't think she wants to kill you anymore. You saved my life."

Heero fidgeted and pretended not to have heard the last sentence. "... Good. Because she attacked me twice already--"

Wufei looked at Heero shyly, and Heero hugged him tight in response, as much because he needed to hug him right now than to hide his blush. They held each other in silence for a few minutes before Wufei's voice rose again. 

"I--uh--I didn't tell Flitwick about you, but Dumbledore was listening in and I think he knows.

Heero winced. "Well, Snape does already, obviously... It's weird, he's been... nice," he added, making a face. "I can swear he saw me pour that stuff in Avery's cauldron but he didn't say anything-- just commented when Avery-- uh well, you don't want the details, it was disgusting-- you know how Snape does, finding someone who already feels awful and make them feel worse..."

"Yeah... It's classes now, right?"

Heero nodded. "He gave me a pass," he explained, still surprised about that. 

"Snape?"

The Slytherin nodded. "I wonder why. It can't be out of the goodness of his heart, can it? That would totally ruin my belief system. Next you'll tell me that Santa Claus is a Muggle."

He wanted to make Wufei laugh--he hated to see him so scared and depressed, he who was usually so strong, calm and confident. But the smile the Ravenclaw managed didn't last. Deciding to try another way to cheer him up, Heero nuzzled Wufei's cheek then kissed his lips gently. 

When Wufei started to kiss back, Heero caressed his chest encouragingly. The Ravenclaw sniffled discretely, threading his fingers through Heero's hair as if wanting to make sure he wouldn't just suddenly pull back. But Heero didn't intend to, and kept on exploring Wufei's mouth gently, slowly. For a second, he paused over the canines, which -- was this just an impression?-- felt slightly more prominent and cutting than they had before. But soon he was deepening the kiss, leaning against Wufei more and more. 

Finally, Wufei responded, nibbling Heero's lip gently. He pulled the other teen against him, wanting to feel him close, and the Slytherin gladly obliged him by crawling on top of him, resting his weight on his boyfriend in a most comforting way. The kiss broke and Wufei slipped his arms around Heero, nuzzling his neck as Heero nuzzled his hair. 

"My parents took it better than you'd expect--my mother said the exact same thing you did. It's a disease, right?" he asked, scared of the answer, but also hopeful. 

Heero grinned briefly at him. "Of course. Even your parents think so. Which proof do you need? Hey-- you remember Professor Lupin, right? You were in his classes too? Did it seem to you that he was a monster?" he asked in a soft, serious voice. 

Wufei shook his head, lost in thought. 

"He was a really honorable and thoughtful man. He never favored any house. Not even his own. He's a Gryff, but he always treated us Slytherin just the same. He was funny too. But never cruel."

"...And one of the best teachers we ever had."

Heero nodded. "So you see, it isn't because he's a werewolf that he was any less of a man," he finished. 

Heero was proud that he had managed not to stumble on the word. He could act like he was totally fine with what happened, but the fact was-- he wasn't. He was lost and confused and angry with a lot of people and things-- though not at Wufei-- but Wufei was in a worse state than he was and had more of a right to be shell-shocked about it. So he would have to stutter over the word and hide his head in the sand in private, later. 

"But--he lost his job because--"

"He lost his job because people were assholes to him," the Slytherin shot back sharply. "... Were you intending on working with children?" he asked, more softly. 

Wufei shook his head. "I wanted to be an Auror ... Kind of ironic now."

Heero winced. "Maybe-- maybe..."

He didn't know what to say. 

Wufei sighed, and Heero cuddled him automatically. 

"It's lucky my potions marks are good. I might be able to make the lycanthrope potion myself."

"... the Wolfsbane potion?"

Wufei nodded. "That's the one. I ... suppose its not so bad, really. I mean ... it's like a muggle illness. I'll have to take my potion and not bite anyone."

Unable to bear the little note of hopelessness in his voice, Heero hugged him tight, kissing his neck. Wufei made a little needy sound, pressing up against Heero, and kissed back, suddenly hugging him tight, catching him by surprise. 

"I'm so glad you're safe--"

Heero's eyes went wide. "W-what? I wasn't--" he stammered, unable to say why his heart felt like it was squeezed. "Wufei..." he whispered, voice thick with emotion. 

"I didn't know that. And when I got to the forest and you weren't anywhere in sight--well, I was sure something had happened. I mean, I knew going in so deep was foolish--but I couldn't help thinking, what if you were hurt and just around the next corner and I left you there-- I wish I'd thought of bringing my broom though..."

He fell silent, conscious that he was babbling. 

Heero hid his face in his boyfriend's neck. "Gods, Wufei--I'm glad you're alive. I'm glad it wasn't worse. You could have lost your leg or something like that, or..."

Wufei nodded. "I can't believe I fell for such a stupid trick."

"How could you have known?" asked the Slytherin with a snort. "Don't start the "I wish" game. I wish I hadn't been stupid about wanting to do my homework before seeing you. I wish I hadn't waited to owl you about whether or not I would see you that night."

Wufei decided to let Heero convince him. "I suppose--" he admitted softly. 

"I wish-- I wish I didn't lose my time kicking Avery when he was down or hesitating before stealing your cousin's broom or going toward the smoke. I wish I'd come earlier. ...I'm so sorry..." he whispered, hugging him hard. 

"You didn't know--you came."

"Too late."

"No, I was bitten well before you got there. I still had my wand at that point."

"... Hn." He wasn't sure he believed Wufei; he wouldn't have put it past him to lie to make him feel better. 

"I ... I don't think I'd been in the forest more than twenty minutes when ... I think the full moon drew the wolves deeper out of the forest than usual."

Heero nodded tiredly. "I didn't even know that it was the full moon."

"Well, it was. I don't think Avery knew either. Moron. ...Can you tell me about the crotch thing again?" he asked, a weirdly eager note in his voice, behind the pain and tiredness. 

Heero chuckled weakly. "Well, I just came behind him. And when he turned to face me, I grabbed his head and kneed him hard. I don't think he's going to have a lot of kids. Can't say anyone'll miss them either." 

"I certainly won't," Wufei replied with a small, but amused smile.

There was a moment of silence, during which Wufei played nervously with Heero's collar. "I--you're not here because you feel sorry for me?"

Heero blinked. "I'm here because you're my boyfriend, moron," he stated, kissing his nose. 

"Just checking," Wufei answered, nuzzling his cheek. He didn't sound too sincere though, and Heero pulled back, giving him a serious look. 

"... What happened to you was awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone... but I am not here out of _pity_. Slytherins don't _do_ pity."

"That's true," Wufei answered after a few seconds of thinking, reassured. "They do extended bedside visits though, right? I'm going to be here a while." 

Heero kissed his neck again. "I'll come and see you every day after class."

"I--can't go back to my dorm room."

"Not ever?"

The Ravenclaw shook his head silently, not meeting his eyes. "Professor Lupin had his own room so it wasn't an issue but... It isn't safe to let me keep on sharing. And they're going to need a place to keep me during the full moon."

Heero winced. "But people are going to talk..."

"Heero, I was injured in the Forbidden Forest on the night of the full moon. I doubt you'll need to be a Ravenclaw to figure that one out."

"... but..." 

Wufei patted his cheek consolingly.

"Oh well," Heero sighed, "I guess it will make visiting you easier."

Wufei blinked, and his boyfriend leered at him halfheartedly.

"I hadn't thought of that."

"... maybe I can stay the night..."

The hold that Wufei had on Heero tightened, and the Slytherin gasped. He had been joking to make him feel better... though in all honesty he wouldn't mind spending the night.

"Heh. You must be desperate for visits."

"The only person besides you who's come to visit was Mei."

The Slytherin winced. Way to go. "...Maybe they didn't get permission," he offered quietly. 

Wufei didn't seem to be angsting over it too much, though, and continued. "What took you so long to come by anyway? I was waiting and waiting!"

Heero scowled. "They didn't let me come earlier. Saying you needed to rest and only close family was allowed... I tried to sneak in but Peeves saw me and began to screech--maybe you heard."

"Oh--That was what that was," Wufei answered. His amused smile turned into a yawn, catching Heero by surprise.

"... are you feeling sleepy? Sorry, I stayed a long time..."

"Can't you stay longer? I'll just shut my eyes a bit. I'm not really tired--

Heero kissed his cheek. "I'll stay as long as you want me to stay. You can rest a little."

Wufei smiled, snuggling against Heero. Suddenly he sniffed a little, and his smile grew a little wider. "You brought me chocolates?"

"Oh--yeah. I forgot. Do you want them now?"

Wufei nodded. "And ... do I smell flowers?" he added, poking Heero in the ribs. 

Heero winced guiltily. "Flowers, me? As if. Do you think I'm that girly?"

"Well, you smell like flowers," he insisted. He changed the subject, prodding his boyfriend. "So, chocolates?" 

Heero was chuckling as he went to get the chocolates. "Open your mouth." He pushed a chocolate past Wufei's lips then kissed him. Wufei gave an appreciative moan, kissing back. As a thank-you, he gave Heero a melted chocolate kiss on his cheek. 

"Thank you..."

Heero chuckled, in equal parts embarrassed and amused. "That was purely for my own pleasure. You taste good, but with chocolate you taste divine. ...Of course everything tastes better with chocolate."

"Oh, really? I'll have to test that once I'm out of here ... Um, I think that's Madame Pomfrey," he added with a grimace as his ears caught a slight noise in one of the other rooms. 

Heero's eyes widened and he jumped out of the bed, trusting Wufei's senses. Since he himself didn't hear the woman yet, he glanced behind him to check then kissed Wufei fast. The black-haired boy gave a happy, if dazed, sigh. 

The Slytherin wiped at his cheek to get the chocolate off. 

"So yeah, I'll get you your homework, don't worry," Heero assured his boyfriend detachedly, as if they hadn't been snogging two seconds earlier. 

Madam Pomfrey came in and looked at them thoughtfully, then went to them. "I'm sorry, Yuy, but the visiting hour is past. You have to go. You can come back tomorrow if you want. I'm sure Chang will like to be able to do his homework," she added with a gentle smile before ushering him out. 

Wufei watched Heero go, with a shy, hopeful smile on his face--this visit was the first time he'd smiled since he was brought back to the infirmary. 

+

Heero sighed and went back to the dungeons, his own smile disappearing. He'd tried to be optimistic around Wufei, but he could say what he wanted, he'd heard too many horror stories about werewolves to be perfectly comfortable. He liked Wufei, sure, but people were going to know what he was soon. Parents would try to have him kicked out of school... Did Heero really want to stand by his side?

He sighed again-- it wasn't as if he wanted to make a career in the Ministry anyway. He didn't need to be politically correct, and he'd never minded ruffling feathers--but when they wouldn't be Draco Malfoy's feathers but Lucius'... what then? He didn't have a lot of friends; in fact he only had Duo, and he didn't want him to be hurt from the backlash. When people would know that he was the werewolf's boyfriend, he'd finally have the peace and quiet he often pleaded for... but he wasn't sure that it was going to be that good finally.

Oh fuck, he wouldn't back off just because of peer pressure. Straightening his back, he stalked toward the dungeons. He hoped he would meet Avery; he needed someone to calm his anger at his own hesitation on.

-----------------------------------------

It was such a fine day that the students could eat outside if they wished. Incidentally, it was also the first day Wufei had been let out of the hospital wing, and he'd joined some of his classmates for lunch on the grass outside. A couple of Gryffindors, Meiran and her friends, had joined the little group as well, determined to make Wufei's first day back as pleasant as possible. 

Heero was sitting under a tree with his own lunch, watching Wufei from afar. He was relieved that his boyfriend still had friends in his House--he didn't think he would, but then if Wufei had been a Slytherin, he wouldn't have. But Heero couldn't join them. He didn't want to intrude on Wufei's time with his friends. Besides no one in that group knew him as anything else than a Slytherin and Maxwell's shadow. Their relationship would be common knowledge soon enough, but he didn't want to thrust it in Wufei's friends' face. 

Suddenly, a rustle of robes behind him alerted him to someone's presence. Heero looked up, and then got on his feet as he recognized his Head of House. 

"Keeping a wary distance, Yuy? Might not be such a bad idea," his professor commented as his black eyes swept over the mixed group to stop on the lycanthrope. 

Heero blinked, then shrugged. "I have no desire to associate with Gryffindors, sir, thank you very much."

Snape stared at him in silence, then looked over at the group of students. "They say that werewolves are like icebergs--the greater part of them concealed."

The teenager blinked. "... What do you mean, sir?"

"You may like Chang, but I do not think you should trust him."

Heero clenched his teeth, annoyed by his teacher's cryptic comments. "Apart from a few nights in the months, he's no different from before. Sir. Anyway, I don't trust anyone but myself entirely," he added, in a lower tone.

"Very good, Yuy," the man answered cynically. "But know this: No one is quite sure of the process involved in making a werewolf--how much of the human is retained in the transformation, how much of the beast remains even after the full moon--"

Out of sight, the teenager clenched his fists. 

"Although the effects of the lycanthrope virus are only present once a month as you say, it remains present always."

"... So maybe he'll take a habit of biting me in bed," he answered dryly, getting annoyed. "I don't see a problem."

Heero knew that he had a bad tendency to always do the contrary of what people advised him to do, and he hadn't decided yet what to do about Wufei-- but he didn't want anyone to decide for him either. 

Snape gave him a cool look. "I'm telling you this for your own good, Yuy. Be careful what you decide," he added in something of an ominous tone as he pulled his cloak more tightly around him and headed away.

"Thank you for your concern, professor."

He sat down again, eyes narrowed. "... But I never trust anyone but myself..." he continued in a whisper, "not him... not you."


	9. Chapter Seven

Apparently, some people like this story. O.o How weird. It's cute, but not one of my best works. Rewriting it from a chat log makes it sound very awkward in places. n.n;;;

Thanks to Sera-chan for playing Duo! n.n

**Chapter Seven**

--History of Magic--

For once, Heero was glad to have the boring, absent-minded Binns as a teacher. It had been a week since Wufei left the infirmary and Heero hadn't been able to find a moment to talk to him privately yet. His cousin and friends were _always _around. They would never let a Slytherin get close, so this was the first time he would have an occasion to talk with his boyfriend.

He sat at his usual place, almost all the way to the back. Duo sat beside him, secretly reading a note between the pages of his history book. Being a sixth year, he wasn't supposed to be there, but he had decided that a) Heero needed moral support and b) Arithmancy was boring.

Heero knew which one had weighted more heavily in his mind.

Duo was chewing on the tip of his quill when he saw Wufei enter, and gave Heero a nudge to warn him. Heero straightened up, and glanced at the black-haired teen shyly, a bit unsure. He had way too long to think during that week and he was now more unsure about their relationship than ever.

The longhaired Slytherin murmured to him. "What're you waiting for, huh?"

Wufei looked toward Heero and smiled briefly-- before frowning as a screwed up ball of paper bounced off his head. Heero gave him a concerned look and it took a few seconds before the words registered. He turned and glared at his friend. "What the fuck do you mean?"

Duo waved his wand casually and made Wufei's seat pull back. "Switch seats for the class. Binns won't notice."

Heero blinked. "... but-- but his friends will..."

"Will what?"

"Notice, idiot. Besides, there's only one free place. Why don't you take his?"

"Hmmm... okay. Anything for you," he added with a wink.

Heero couldn't help but chuckle. Duo stood and grabbed his bag, plopping his butt in Wufei's usual seat just as the Ravenclaw was reaching their row, immediately starting to flirt shamelessly with the person who habitually sat next to Wufei. The innocent bystander looked surprised for a second, then horrified as Duo started making suggestive motions on his wand.

Heero glanced at the black-haired student, nibbling on his lip nervously. He hoped he wouldn't mind the switch... To his relief, Wufei slid into the seat next to Heero casually, not looking bothered in the least, and Heero gave him a falsely indifferent nod. "Chang," he saluted, his voice distant, contradicting his tone by bumping his foot against his under the table.

Wufei smiled at Heero politely as he let his fingers brush his own under the desk. "Yuy."

"How are you doing?" the messy-haired teenager asked in a whisper, squeezing his hand.

"I'm okay."

Heero thought how funny it was that he seemed to forget his doubts when Wufei was close by...

"...I wish people would stop staring at me as though I grew an extra arm or something ..." the Ravenclaw continued dryly.

... When he was close, Heero only saw Wufei... He didn't imagine the beast.

Heero snorted. "It would be _cute_ if you grew a tail, though," he responded, smirking, making the 'cute' sound like the evilest insult.

The Ravenclaw student in front of them suddenly squawked and the lovebirds turned their heads to see Duo lifting up his hands in a "Hey, my hands were SO not on you" motion. Heero couldn't help but snort at his friend's antics. Duo knew that Heero didn't want to be noticed and was making sure that they wouldn't be by drawing attention to himself.

He kept on pestering his neighbor for a while as Wufei and Heero played quietly with each other's fingers, then rather brusquely, his hand shot in the air. "But Professor Binns! How would the trolls BREED?"

Heero relaxed as he saw Wufei smile a real, honestly amused smile.

"I mean, to have half-trolls, a person would have to have sex with a troll, and I certainly wouldn't want to do it!"

The whole class burst into laughter.

"I ... I have to spend a few more nights in the hospital wing," whispered Wufei, "but Dumbledore is creating a room for me--kind of attached to the Ravenclaw tower. So we can talk properly there."

"Oh?" the messy-haired one asked, frowning thoughtfully. "Going through your common room?" he asked, already planning ways to get in discretely. Everyone knew the passwords to the Hufflepuff common room, but the others were better protected.

Wufei shook his head. "I don't know yet," he replied, sighing.

"You'll tell me? I need to plan my infiltration route."

Wufei nodded. "If worst comes to worse I can leave a window open and Mei's broom in a bush."

"So she found it?" Heero asked with a smirk.

Wufei nodded, still playing with Heero's fingers. "I helped her look but we found it."

Suddenly, Duo's voice resonated loudly in the room, falsely outraged. "I don't _need_ to sleep with trolls!"

Heero snorted at his friend's antics and kicked his chair. The braided student yelped and glared at his friend.

"You know, if you deny it too long and too loudly..." the messy-haired teenager drawled.

Duo threw a quill at him. Heero threw it back, but Duo ducked. "I don't need anything besides what I have," the braided one protested loudly.

"Like your hands? Sure, troll hands would be way too big, but yours fits just fine..."

"Hey! That's an insult, Yuy! Especially since you've taken your hands back," he added with a smirk, looking at Heero's hands pointedly. One of them was still under the desk, in Wufei's.

"You hardly needed _both_ of them."

Wufei was shaking with silent, barely restrained laughter, and Heero felt his smirk widen in triumph. Mission: Getting Wufei To Have Some Fun seemed to be working fine so far.

"You forget how impressive I am."

A few heads in the room nodded in agreement.

"Oh yeah, impressively small," Heero snorted, but he couldn't help but feel that he shouldn't have said that. Maybe Wufei didn't like him talking about what he had been to Duo in too many details.

His suspicion was confirmed when Wufei opened his mouth. "I think that's a little too much information. Some of us are trying to learn here," he added, his tone a bit disapproving. Heero couldn't help but wince.

Wufei squeezed Heero's hand to show he didn't really mind, and the shorthaired boy gave him a relieved look. Duo was still in smartass mode, though. "Don't Ravenclaws like to learn new things?" he asked, looking innocent. "I can teach you a thing or three."

Kicking Duo's chair discretely, Heero shrugged and turned to Wufei casually. "You'll have learned that Maxwell has a big mouth and a small dick."

Duo squacked. "Traitor, Yuy!"

Wufei couldn't help but laugh. Everyone was now looking their way.

"And after I taught you so much," the braided boy sighed. Heero looked dubious.

"Like how not to laugh at my partner's performance?"

Duo was ready to answer back when Professor Binns did something that he had done once in ten years-- he stopped his lesson.

"Please do get out of the classroom until you have calmed down," he told them, in the same droning voice he had used for... well, everything else.

"But Professor Binns! You didn't teach us about the trolls!"

The Slytherin shook his head and pulled on Duo's braid to make him shut up. "What are you complaining about?" he whispered.

Wufei was already picking up his bag, sighing. He had trouble feeling honestly annoyed, though. It was good to be able to laugh that freely, and he could always get someone else's notes later. It wasn't as if Binns had taken House points off.

Duo slung his bag over his shoulder and kissed his neighbor on the cheek. "See ya at lunch!" he threw with a wink, to the great horror of the poor Ravenclaw.

Heero nudged Wufei out of the row so that he could get out, scowling. "Move your fat arse, Chang."

The braided one sauntered out of the room, and Heero followed, not seeming to pay attention to Wufei, who, after shrugging helplessly at his classmates, finally moved out of the room.

As soon as the door closed, Wufei grabbed Heero's hand and Duo leaned against the wall of the hallway. "So... are we going to skeeve off class?" the braided boy asked, not seeming to notice the gesture.

Heero flushed a little, feeling a bit weird from being under Duo's eyes, but interlaced their fingers anyway.

"...Or should I leave you two lovebirds alone?"

Heero flushed more. "Duo!"

"Binn's class is three hours long. I'm sure you two can put the time to good use," he suggested, waggling his eyebrows.

Heero rolled his eyes. "I don't know," he answered sarcastically. "Wufei, do you want to ravish me in a dark corner?"

"Okay."

Blinkblink.

"... pervert."

Duo chuckled, entertained. Heero sighed heavily. "Why must I attract sex addicts?" he muttered to no one in particular.

"You're calling HIM a pervert? Your standards have dropped, Heero," the older Slytherin commented, giving him a commiserating pat on his shoulder. Heero grimaced at him.

"I have some leftover candy from my visitors...If you want you could come back to the hospital wing and share it with me," Wufei proposed.

The shorthaired boy couldn't help but leer. "Attracting me with candy?"

"He likes chocolate covered cherries," Duo piped up.

Wufei smiled at him, a bit unsure. He did like Duo, from what he'd seen, but the other boy was such a big part in Heero's life, he couldn't help but worry over whether Duo liked _him_. "Thank you. I'm sure that will be useful," he said politely.

"Any time."

"Do--do you want to come as well?" he proposed softly, not wanting to exclude him.

Heero groaned. "Don't ever ask him that..."

Right on cue, the longhaired Slytherin gave him an once-over and smirked. "I'd certainly love to come with you..."

Heero reached out and pulled on Duo's braid.

"OW!! Dammit Heero! You're so mean to me!"

"Mine! Hands off," Heero growled, pulling Wufei close possessively.

Duo laughed. "I know, Heero. I'll leave the coming to my own lovers."

Wufei smiled at his boyfriend's possessiveness, slipping an arm around him. "I've missed you ..." he admitted in a whisper.

"I think this is my cue to leave," Duo quipped with a grin.

Heero flushed darkly, glaring at Duo, and kissed Wufei possessively. He forgot about Duo fast--he had not known how much he'd missed Wufei's mouth. Wufei kissed him back happily, absently waving goodbye to Duo.

"Um--that dark corner?" he mumbled, his lips against the shorthaired teen's. Heero maneuvered them to the dark corner, refusing to let more than a few inches come between their mouths.

Behind them, Duo grinned and made his way to the Quidditch pitch, totally ignored.

Wufei held Heero, just enjoying being with him. He let the Slytherin press him against the wall and kiss him deeply, hungrily. Feeling his enthusiasm, his possessiveness... it was almost enough to forget his fears.

"... mine," Heero whispered as he started on his neck, delighting in Wufei's sudden shiver. "... missed you-- wanted to come and see you, but your friends are guarding you like rabid dogs...!" he added, still dropping kisses all over his neck.

Wufei sighed, winding his arms around Heero's neck. "Well, I guess they have reason--"

"Reasons, reasons," Heero grumbled. "I couldn't even step closer than twenty meters before I got glared back. Like everyone else, I might add."

"Well most students haven't been as ... understanding as you."

They sighed in unison.

"I understand, seriously. It's good that you have friends willing to protect you. It was just annoying."

"Tell me about it. I've wanted to talk to you so much I--" He faltered, forced himself to speak again, but it was only a whisper. "I guess when I'm apart from you I get scared--"

Heero blinked. "Scared of what?"

The Ravenclaw tucked strands of his hair behind one ear nervously. Heero's eyes followed his hand. That gesture was just so elegant, so... Wufei.

"I keep thinking that you're going to change your mind--that you're going to see a monster like everyone else... They're scared of me, you know. The Hufflepuff students just about fell off their chairs when I walked into Herbology today."

"Are you calling me a Hufflepuff? I'm not scared of you! Why should I be?" growled Heero.

"...You're not?"

"Apart from three nights in the months, you're just Wufei. I could kick your ass if I wanted," he shrugged, sticking his tongue out.

Wufei managed a weak smile that fell fast. "... I'm scared," he admitted quietly, wiping a hand across suddenly wet eyes. "I don't know... " He hugged Heero tightly suddenly, catching him by surprise.

His surprise turned to mild panic when he felt something wet slide down his neck. He couldn't let Wufei cry in public!

"Oh, hell..." he groaned, looking around for somewhere safe to hide-- then pulled Wufei toward a little door he could have sworn wasn't there a second ago. He didn't know where that went, but there was something that unnerved him about letting Wufei look vulnerable out in the open, even though almost everyone was in class.

Sniffling, Wufei went with Heero, mumbling excuses.

There was a large and snug-looking couch and a fireplace in the cozy little room. It felt comfortable, calming. The perfect room. Heero closed the door behind them and guided his boyfriend to the couch.

"... It's -- okay. I understand," he assured him softly, even though he wanted so badly to run away.

Wufei wiped his eyes. "I'm okay, really. I just ... things are changing so fast, you know?"

Heero rubbed Wufei's back soothingly. He felt almost physically uneasy around crying people and he had no clue how to comfort someone, but he was pretty sure that physical touch could help ...from what he'd observed from afar, the rare times he didn't flee as soon as he spied tears.

Wufei was clinging to Heero, still sniffling a bit. "I'm okay. I ... I'm sorry."

Heero rubbed his back gently, the gesture coming a bit more easily this time. "... It's okay... I don't mind. It's not easy for you..."

Wufei stayed silent. He couldn't help but remember when Heero said why he liked him--it was because he stood up for himself, not because he burst into tears on him.

"... you don't have to be strong all the time," Heero ventured blindly not a second after. "If you tried, you'd probably explode."

Wufei wiped his face, slightly comforted. "It's not easy for you either."

Heero snorted. "I don't see how it compares."

Wufei smiled a little.

"Did you tell Duo?"

"Tell Duo what?" he replied, puzzled. "Oh-- that you're a werewolf now? No need, he did the math himself." He made a face. "He asked to tell him if I notice a significant difference in your... cough Oh, hell, you know Duo. He wants to know if you shag me like an animal now," he finished with an awkward little smile. "He doesn't mean it in a bad way!!" he added, afraid that he had said something stupid.

Wufei snorted, amused. "That sounds like him. I don't mind, I'd rather that than people staring or whispering behind my back."

Heero nuzzled Wufei's cheek. "It isn't Duo's style. A most unusual Slytherin you won't find. ... Well, like he can talk about my choice of boyfriends anyway. He's having an affair with the Weasley twins. At the same time," he added, making a face.

Wufei's eyes bulged. "Both? But--"

Heero smirked. "I think he just ravished one thinking he was the other and they decided to share. It's just sex, mostly."

"Oh."

"... well, that's what he told me..." he added, thoughtful.

Wufei rested his head against Heero's shoulder, mostly to hide his expression, but also to invite Heero play with his hair, an invitation he took gladly. "You think they're really having sex?"

Heero grimaced. "If you saw the way Duo walks when he comes back, you wouldn't ask."

"Oh." Wufei was a little pink and flustered, but trying not to be... though it wasn't that easy.

Heero played with Wufei's hair more, hoping that he was feeling better but not wanting to ask. His boyfriend smiled at him, patting his cheek. "Thank you for cheering me up."

Heero flushed a little, then leaned toward him and kissed him quickly. Wufei grinned as he kissed back. "I think I missed this most of all--"

The Slytherin smirked back and straddled Wufei's lap. "Yeah, I kinda missed you too."

Wufei slipped his hands under Heero's cloak, not wasting any time, then pulled Heero's head down to lick his neck, caressing his bare skin as he did. Heero shivered--it seemed a lot more intimate than anything they had done before, even though he knew it wasn't true. He probably felt so because it had never happened that fast before... Not that he truly minded, he decided. He made a soft, contented sound and pressed against Wufei, who was still gently exploring his neck.

"... Fei..."

Wufei purred in response, sucking at Heero's neck. Heero shivered. They were alone in a room with a large, comfortable couch and the other students were in class for two hours-- he chewed on his own lip, feeling his pants get a little too tight.

"You seem distracted," the Ravenclaw commented, still caressing Heero's sides.

"... No. If anything, I'm probably thinking about the situation too much," the Slytherin replied with an embarrassed grimace.

"The situation?"

"You, me, a closed room, fluffy cushions, two hours and a half to kill..." Heero explained with a low laugh.

Wufei blinked then grinned ferally, pressing up against Heero. "Oooh. You want to do more than just kiss?"

Heero hesitated just a second before nodding. "... I think I might want more, indeed." Just how much, that was what he wasn't sure of.

"Really?" Wufei breathed against his neck before licking it.

Heero moaned softly in response. Yesterday he doubted about whether to keep on going out with Wufei, and now they were making out-- Duo's question came back to his mind and he blushed.

Wufei nibbled on Heero's neck gently, sighing happily when his boyfriend kissed him again, pulling at his shirt. He arched against him when the Slytherin started to unbutton it, and pushed Heero's own shirt up to lick at his chest eagerly.

"... Wufei..." Heero's voice was weirdly shy. Wufei pulled back a little to look at him --he had never heard that tone from his boyfriend before and it was... appealing. But Heero was nibbling on his lip, looking nervous, maybe even scared, and _that _wasn't appealing at all. He let Heero's shirt fall, covering his chest again.

"Heero?"

"Yeah?"

Wufei kissed his nose, making him go crosseyed, and then laughed at him. Heero would have been angry if he hadn't then rested his hands around his neck and cuddled.

"You okay with this?"

Heero nuzzled him and closed his eyes. "Yeah... just a little nervous," he admitted in a soft voice.

"Nervous?" Wufei asked, a little apprehensive... Was it because he was a were? "I--I wouldn't hurt you ever, you know that--"

Heero blinked. "It's not for that, idiot!!" he protested, glaring at him. "You're a moron. I don't care that you turn furry three days a month, ok?

"Then what is there to be nervous about?"

"I just... we never went that far before," Heero replied quietly, nuzzling his cheek.

"Oh... It's okay, isn't it? I mean, you know I like you and everything--and you can tell me to stop. Besides, I said we could do more than just kiss--that's not to say we have to do everything. And if you don't kiss me, I'm going to keep babbling."

Heero laughed, and then kissed him hard and deep, all shyness disappearing.

Wufei kissed him back with relief, losing himself in the kiss. It felt so good to be with Heero... He tentatively stroked his bare skin again, nibbling at his neck. He considered this a success when Heero shivered and pressed closer, his hands caressing Wufei's back.

"Thank you," the Ravenclaw whispered, drawing on the skin at the small of his boyfriend's back.

"Mmm... thanks for what?" the Slytherin asked, rubbing against him lazily.

Wufei's eyes fluttered closed in pleasure. "For being here--for being you..."

Heero felt a fist tightening around his heart for a second and hugged Wufei tight in response. "Yeah, I'm here. And I'm not leaving," he assured him quietly, as he realized that somewhere along the way, he had made his decision.

Wufei smiled and hugged back-- but he couldn't help but feel a little guilty though. Was it really fair of him to let Heero get involved in this whole mess?

"Now are we making out or playing shrink?"

Wufei smiled to soften his words. "Well actually ... This might be a good place to stop making out. I mean ... I'm not going to be able to stop soon if we keep going," he added, highly embarrassed.

Heero gave him a disappointed look. "You mean we have two hours and a couch and we're not going to use them? Oh, damn," he grumbled. But Wufei seemed serious, so he gracefully accepted to slide off his lap to sit down at his side, not insisting that they keep going.

Wufei leaned against him a little, glad that he hadn't pushed. "Two hours now ... and a couch in a room with an open window and an unlocked door?"

"We can lock the door," Heero retorted, but he didn't start again. He just pushed Wufei back against the couch and leaned against him, resting his head on his shoulder --he must have leaned too hard because they ended up lying down, but neither one protested. Wufei rested his own head against Heero's and cuddled back, before tilting Heero's head up to look at him.

"I ... I really like you ..."

Heero flushed and avoided his eyes for a second, but made himself meet them again. "... good..."

"...but there are so many things I want to be sure of before I do anything like that with you," the Ravenclaw continued in a rush.

"..I'd feel weird if I was the only one-- ... yeah, I understand."

"Lycanthropy's a virus transmitted by biting right?"

Heero nodded cautiously, not sure of what Wufei wanted to hear. "Yeah, but Professor Snape told me that its effects were only present during the full moon... You can bite me at any other time," he added with a chuckle.

Wufei nodded. "Professor Dumbledore didn't seem to think there would be a problem with uh ... kissing and stuff. But I want to check first."

"Wait-- you ASKED?"

"Well, how else am I supposed to find out?" the black-haired teen replied defensively. "My mother was asking questions about it too--she was worried it'd be like HIV or something, so I wasn't the only one interested."

Heero gaped. Asking Dumbledore sex questions seemed even more embarrassing than getting the birds and bees talk from his father. "... uh... what did he say?" he asked, squirming.

"Professor Dumbledore said that far too little research had been done on the subject and that if more people were willing to approach it from the scientific perspective, more progress might be made in abandoning the prejudices surrounding weres. And that he believed that it was safe as long as I didn't bite you enough to draw blood, but that he hoped we'd remember the school rules."

Heero blinked. "School rules? Waitaminut--me? You told him-- what did you tell him exactly?"

Wufei turned pink. "I didn't say anything..."

Heero groaned, letting his head fall on Wufei's shoulder. "He already knew," he muttered.

"But he said, 'by the way, you might want to tell that Slytherin boyfriend of yours that stinging nettle was not considered an appropriate gift and it was confiscated before it got to me'. You didn't have to get me flowers, you know."

Heero turned bright red. "Who said I did... Damn that old meddling bastard."

Wufei smiled, hugging Heero, and felt him relax slowly. It was nice for a few minutes, but then he felt his awareness of a problem kick in and started to squirm. "Um--I might want to sit up now."

"No," Heero replied stubbornly and stayed on top of Wufei, unmoving.

Wufei squirmed even more uncomfortably-- his trousers were starting to feel a little too tight. "Heero..."

"Yes?"

"Let me up," he asked, a bit more sternly. His boyfriend sighed and sat up. Wufei was highly embarrassed. He didn't want to admit why he wanted to sit up. Thankful, he squirmed away, rearranging his robes hastily.

Heero wondered for a second why he was being so careful with his robes, then smirked when he understood.

"You have an unusually thick wand," he commented innocently.

Wufei choked, and the Slytherin gave him a teasing smirk. "...if that's what was in your pocket."

He looked around the room innocently, pretending not to see Wufei's suspicious glare.

"Never seen this room before. What do you think it is? Staff room? It isn't a waiting room or an antechamber, it goes nowhere," he asked in a very blatant change of subject.

Wufei was glad to seize it. "Maybe it used to serve a purpose way back when there were more wizards."

Heero smirked. "Like available makeout space, you think?"

"Yes, I'm sure that's exactly the use the four founders had in mind for this place," the Ravenclaw retorted dryly.

"Well, they were human too. I'm sure they had urges."

Wufei smiled a little, a smile that widened when Heero kissed his cheek quickly, and started to play with his hand.

"... Are you feeling better now?" asked Heero, hesitant.

Wufei nodded, knowing that he wasn't thinking of his small problem of a few minutes ago. "Talking to you has helped so much. Even for a Slytherin. ...You know, I was thinking ... Weres are supposed to eat babies too, right? Does this make me an honorary Slytherin?"

Heero grinned. "You'd probably be one if you weren't so damn smart," he replied, and then grimaced. "Who am I kidding? You'd be a Gryffindor. You're too honorable to make a good Slytherin, baby, sorry," he added with a chuckle and nuzzled his cheek.

"Well, damn," the black-haired boy grumbled as he put an arm around Heero. "Is it true that Duo could have been in Gryffindor?"

"I don't see why that's surprising. Did you notice how much he acts like the Weasley twins? And they're Gryffs."

"Yeah ..."

"He told me that the hat was a little lost because he was devious and ambitious enough to be in Slytherin but also noble, open and courageous like a Gryffindor."

Wufei nodded slowly. "He really helped us today-- I hope he didn't think I was ungrateful."

"Oh, no, don't worry. ... He would never drop me just because I'm in trouble and might bring him down with me," Heero commented with a chuckle. "Plus he likes to stir up trouble."

"Like someone else I know," the Ravenclaw commented before kissing Heero. "I'm feeling a lot better now. You want to go get that candy?"

"Sure."

Heero took his hand and pulled him out, taking the lead once again. Neither one noticed the door disappearing behind them.

"You think Madam Pomfrey will ask what we're doing out of class? You could always pretend to feel unwell..." he added with a sidelong glance.

"I got tired and you're taking me back to the hospital wing to make sure I'm okay--" Wufei said at the same time, interrupting himself with a laugh. "Great minds."

They walked down the corridors, slowing down.

"We don't need to arrive too soon. She would make me go back..."

"How about I sneak in and get some candy and come back?"

Heero smirked. "That work. But we'll get in trouble later," he added, feeling obligated to point it out for his partner in crime.

"We will? Binns will already have forgotten he sent us out...And if Madame Pomfrey doesn't see us..."

Heero thought it. It wasn't a 100% thing but he was willing to take the risk. "Probably," he agreed. "Finally you might have made it in the house of the Serpent," he added, amused.

Wufei smirked, and slipped into the hospital ward to grab the candy. He returned a few minutes later, looking far too pleased with himself. Heero nodded in approval.

"Now let's find someplace to hide before Filch finds us," he commented quietly, looking around for the Caretaker.

"The Owlery?" Wufei suggested. "The owls always know when Mrs Norris is coming ..."

Wufei just stopped himself from taking Heero's hand again--he didn't want to be too needy. Which was a moot point since Heero took his to guide him through the corridors, though he knew the road just as well.

"We need to come up with a way to get around my guard dogs."

"Your friends? If you present me to your owl, maybe it will accept messages from me...

"You've met my owl--he stole your toast."

"Yes, but not officially. If you don't tell him it's okay, maybe he won't let me use him."

Wufei looked thoughtful. "We can do that, but ... I ... was thinking that the direct route would probably be best. To deal with my friends."

Heero blinked.

"I ... I dunno. I want to tell them--but I don't know if I can handle their reaction on top of everything else at the moment. And I don't know how you feel about it.."

He saw Heero fidget a little and concluded that the Slytherin wasn't really comfortable with their relationship being made public.

"You'd probably get picked on lots, right?" he asked, his tone understanding. "Well, picked on is an understatement for Slytherins isn't it?"

"Well-- it will attract more attention, sure, but-- Malfoy knows. Better tell people ourselves than having people learn through his rumors."

"He does?" Wufei repeated, startled.

Heero sighed, annoyed. "I don't know how, but he figured it out. Not that it was so hard for him to guess-- for someone like him, you only hang out with someone out of our House for two reasons-- to make business partners or to fuck them."

"What about spreading malicious rumours? Doesn't he have to associate with other students for that?"

"That's business. Or preparation to business anyway."

"Ah. Business must be going well then," Wufei replied dryly. "Anyway... a preemptive strike might be good. He'd probably make it sound bad--like you were taking advantage of me or something. As if I were not fully capable of corrupting you," the Ravenclaw continued, perfectly serious.

Heero rolled his eyes, amused. "I think at first you should only tell the friends you trust most," he advised. "What everyone else thinks doesn't really matter, but you don't want them to learn something like you dating a Slytherin boy from the rumor mill. Especially since you just got bitten. They'd probably think I'm trying to get you to join the Dark Lord."

Wufei rolled his eyes, but didn't comment. Prejudiced people would be stupid enough to believe that, no matter what they said or did.

They walked out of the castle to follow a short path to the Owlery, still holding hands casually.

"You know," said Wufei quietly, "I'm so glad I have you."

Heero flushed. "... ah? Well of course. I'm so great," he replied, trying to sound vain to hide his light blush.

Wufei pretended not to have seen. "My friends mean well ... but they're driving me mad."

"What do they do?"

"They're so careful all the time--you know, 'don't say anything about the were thing, you'll upset Wufei'..."

Heero snorted. He'd hate to be tiptoed around like that, and he understood Wufei's frustration all too well.

"And the Ravenclaws only talk about studying and the Gryffindors don't get my jokes. But I can be myself around you."

"Well, too bad if you get upset. You're going to have to deal with it anyway, may as well be now," Heero commented, his casually indifferent tone denied by the tightening of his hand around Wufei's. "No one else would react well to you talking of eating babies, is that it? When will people stop this stupid over-sensitivity and realize that they are nummy, dammit?"

"About the same time Slytherin wins the House Cup," Wufei teased him, smirking.

Heero growled. "We so can win the House Cup!!"

He had to punch Wufei's shoulder to teach him not to laugh. The House Cup wasn't a laughing matter!

They walked in the Owlery and looked around, but neither could find Wufei's owl amongst the sleepy birds resting.

"Damn. I guess the introductions will have to wait."

Heero shrugged, not really heartbroken over that matter. "It's okay. Your owl is a pest anyway."

Wufei paused in front of the empty perch. "Is not," he protested halfheartedly.

"Is so. He stole my damn toast."

"He went to the Ministry," Wufei informed him absently, staring down at nothing.

Heero blinked, startled by the change of mood. "What?"

"... I don't know whether I should be relieved or not that he hasn't come back yet--the Ministry of Magic? There are some papers I need to fill out for the registry and to determine whether I can keep my wand."

"I understood, but why-- WHAT? Why would they take away your wand?" the Slytherin demanded, horrified, closing his hand tightly on his own wand.

"Of course, they can't prevent me from being a wizard since I was studying magic before I was bitten. But if I had been bitten before I came to Hogwarts..."

The Slytherin stared at him, wide-eyed. "... But Professor Lupin -- I was under the impression that he was younger than that before he was bitten..."

"He was a special case. Professor Dumbledore got special permission--and they were able to keep it hidden. 'Don't ask, don't tell' still worked. Now the laws are different and he would have to jump through a hundred legal loops to accept another werewolf kid. I--they're not going to keep this hidden." Wufei was aware that he was rambling, and that his explanation was probably not very clear, but he couldn't make himself sort everything out calmly.

" That's fucking unfair!! Dumbledore wouldn't let them kick you out," Heero replied angrily.

"Professor Dumbledore said that he's not letting a talented pupil like me go. So I'm not worried. But--there's a lot of fuss."

"Why would they -- do that?! Take away your wand... " He whispered, shuddering. No way was he letting anyone take his. He was a wizard -- WUFEI was a wizard, and they had no right to do that!

"They're not going to," the Ravenclaw reassured him. "But--I guess wizards don't trust magic they don't understand or can't control. And you can see why. A lot of Dark Creatures sided with You--You Know Who."

Heero growled. "Don't try to rationalize this. They have no business preventing you from doing magic. You're normal most of the month. And maybe they went to the Dark Lord because the so-called Light wizards treat them like shit and refuse them decent jobs in the first place!!"

Wufei winced, watching Heero pacing angrily enough to disturb the owls. He was not looking forward to the future...

He sat down on a perch. "Heero, it's okay."

"No it's not," the Slytherin retorted, seething.

"I have to sign a few forms, and go on a register. It's not like they're taking away my wand--Dumbledore won't let them."

Heero relaxed. He didn't trust Dumbledore, but one thing to be said about the old geezer was that he stood by his proteges with determination. "... yeah..." he agreed softly.

He went to stand in front of his boyfriend. He was petting one of the school owls, and Heero hesitated a second before continuing the conversation. "... Professor Snape told me to be wary of you."

Wufei blinked owlishly, surprised by the change of subject, then looked down. "Oh ... guess I should have expected that."

"He... thinks I should not get involved with a werewolf. But then he hated Lupin, so it isn't surprising that he wouldn't want his students associating with werewolves."

"Do you think he hated Lupin because he was a werewolf? Or because of something else?" Wufei asked, concentrating on Snape's problem with Lupin to stop thinking about the problem Snape had with him. He was Heero's Head of House, and while Wufei couldn't comprehend how such an unfair, bitter, prejudiced man could get any respect and loyalty from his students --that was probably a Slytherin thing-- lots of Slytherins would defend him just as harshly as he favored them... And he didn't know how much influence Professor Snape had on Heero's decisions. He didn't want to find out the hard way.

Heero frowned, thoughtful. "I don't know-- I thought it was because he had gotten the DADA position at first... But he does talk of werewolves in a way--"

"Do you remember the time he subbed for Lupin? Did he lecture you guys on werewolves as well?"

Heero nodded, puzzled by the mystery.

"I thought at the time it sounded like he'd experienced them personally..." Wufei said thoughtfully. "You know, Snape was probably around for the wars--maybe he fought against them then and..."

"Well, I don't know if he hated Lupin because of him being a werewolf or if he hates werewolves because of Lupin, but..." Heero shrugged. "They were also students at about the same period."

The Ravenclaw stared at him, surprised. Lupin looked like a weary old man sometimes, but Wufei knew for a fact that he was around thirty-five, maybe thirty-eight, not a lot more. Snape, on the other hand, looked well over forty-five. He put the information away to poke at it later if needed and concluded, "Either way, he hates werewolves."

Heero nodded glumly. "Yep. All that to say that if we're not sitting together next lesson, it won't be because of me."

Wufei sighed. "You know ... logically speaking, he's right."

"WHAT?"

"It doesn't make sense to build a relationship with someone who three nights a month would happily eat you. And not in a good way. I ... if you ever change your mind, I'll understand."

Heero's eyes narrowed and his voice turned cold. "It isn't with the beast that I'm building a relationship. Women who marry truckers or seamen see their husbands a lot less often than every night but three nights a month. And I'm not stupid enough to come in a place where I know your wolf side is. Sure, I wonder what it looks like, but I'll never be stupid enough to try and see. If anything, I'll probably help you to make the place idiot-proof."

Wufei smiled, putting an arm around Heero. "Thank you." Heero leaned against him, sighing softly in relief. Being considerate of someone else's feelings was so complicated.

"I won't lie and say that it isn't possible that we break up, but if I break up with you, it won't be because you're a werewolf," he assured him quietly.

Wufei didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Heero looked at his feet for a few seconds, then lifted his head.

"Right... so long as we're there, I should probably send Dad my letter. He's going to wonder if the Squid ate me."

He started to look around for an owl that looked awake enough to carry his mail. Wufei wondered if Heero thought that he hated his brutal honesty, or if he was just embarrassed to be so open. He didn't like not knowing if Heero resented him or not.

"I ... there are only a few people who know how to make the Wolf'sbane potion. It's not taught at Hogwarts--I was wondering ... We have a free choice of a potion to research and make next term."

"Yeah?" the other boy prompted him, glancing at him over his shoulder. He didn't look angry, that was good.

"You want to--if Snape is letting us work together-- I'm sure we'd get top marks for it."

Heero brightened. A project like that would be useful, and would help to get Wufei's mind off other things. "That's a good idea. But the components are rare and they probably cost a lot. I'm not sure he'd let us."

Wufei nodded, discouraged. "That's true ..." he sighed.

"We can always ask," Heero added hastily, feeling bad for dousing his enthusiasm. "Maybe if you suggest it to Dumbledore, he'll push in that direction... I'm sure he'll think that to be able to make it yourself is a good idea. After all, Professor Snape won't always be there."

Wufei nodded again.

"So, you were sending an owl to your Dad? Where does he live?"

"Right now, somewhere in Scotland. In a Wizarding village-- he's the only Muggle," he chuckled.

"What's he doing there then?"

Heero shrugged. "We're living there."

"In Scotland?"

The brown-haired teen nodded. "It's okay, he has a Muggle house, mostly -- why do you find this so amusing?"

Wufei couldn't help but laugh. "We have an apartment in London. We're on the 4th floor of a very trendy apartment block. It's near Mother's work. Completely surrounded by Muggles."

Heero snickered. His step-father was a Muggle living in a Wizarding community, and Wufei's parents were Squibs living with Muggles. It was amusing how their situations were reversed.

"It's been years since I was in a Muggle habitation. I'll have to visit someday."

"That would be cool," Wufei accepted with a smile.

Heero attached his mail to the leg of a tawny owl and they watched it fly away.


	10. Full Moon

Big thanks to Kitty Chou for managing to beta even when everything was trying to keep her from it XD

Next chapter's going to be a bit longer -- need to sort out a couple of plot points.

A couple of answers on some questions that came back a few times in reviews, though:

1) Harry and his friends will NOT be coming into the story as more than background characters. Heero and Wufei are in Harry's school, the school doesn't have that many students, it's normal that they all know of each other. But they're not running in the same circles and they will not meet and become friends, OR enemies. Heero knows Draco personally because they're in the same year and thus have the same classes and share a dormitory room. Duo knows the Twins because they have the same hobbies. Wufei's cousin Meiran happens to be in Ginny's year. That's IT.

2)Heero and Wufei are normal students, as normal as students can be at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They will not go on a quest to defeat Voldemort or kick Fudge out of office. (though... XD) They do have some problems of a magical nature (IE lycanthropy) but they are attempting to deal with these in the same way as all wizarding folks must deal with them. Wufei will NOT find a miracle potion that lets him transform at will and keep his mind when transformed so he can be a wolf-Animagus in all but the name. There's the Wolfsbane. That's it.

**Chapter 8**

Wufei paused by a window, looking out at the fading evening sky. The sun was still out, but he was acutely aware of the passage of time--or rather, aware of the moon which would rise shortly.

The friends he'd eaten with had told him to hurry up and join them for a walk outside, but he'd refused, quietly, saying that he thought he should return to his room. It wouldn't be long now...

Meiran, for once less oblivious than the rest of them, offered to go with him, but Wufei declined and left discretely. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it, to make it too obvious. He was glad his friends had forgotten that it was the full moon tonight and he could do without the pitying and horrified looks he would undoubtedly get. It was already hard to deal with them coming from random people in the halls, he thought as a group of Hufflepuffs second year scattered like a flight of sparrows in their haste to run away from him, but from his friends too... He couldn't stand that.

Going down the passage to his room, he walked past a few of his Housemates, who nodded tightly but didn't stop to chat, and a couple of Slytherins who started and hurried away at his approach. It was odd to find people from that House in that part of the castle, but it wasn't the first time it had happened. Shrugging it off, he reached out for the painting hiding the corridor going to his new room --and then hesitated. It smelled of people who shouldn't have any business touching it. This time of the month he could pick out the individual traits... Avery's friend, the sly, dark haired one, a couple of other boys from his little gang--what could they have been doing there?

Pushing them from his mind, Wufei told the faerie guarding his door the password -- and realized that she was frozen in place, her eyes empty, unmoving just like a Muggle painting. Alarmed, he tried again. The door was most definitely blocked--the painting didn't react at all. What sort of spell could do that? There were traces of magic, he could smell them, taste them in the air almost, but he had never encountered that hex before. He could probably have worked out the counter spell--but his textbooks were in his room, he didn't need them for dinner...

His heightened senses told him that someone was coming, and he recognized the voices. Instinct warned him to get out of sight and he took the opposite corridor, crouching down behind a statue, just in time.

"He's not here!"

"Well, he can't have gotten far--he'll want to go to Flitwick or Dumbledore... As long as the people watching the corridors don't let him go to the staffroom, he's right where we want him."

"You sure he's not dangerous?"

"Not really. Just like a dog. Once he changes we can rile him up and then, we can get him kicked out of here faster than Malfoy can lose the snitch--"

Wufei decided that he had heard enough and hurriedly slipped down the passage. He kept going until he was far away from them, and not even sure of where he was. That part of the corridors wasn't traveled as often as the rest, probably because it took the long way around to most of the points of interest of the castle.

He was locked out of his room and the full moon was ready to rise, he could feel it. He could barely think, he was scared and he had no where to go--unless--they wouldn't think he would go to the Slytherin common room, surely--and Heero was the only one who would help him... He hurried in the directions of the dungeons, managing to use his sense of smell to find the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room.

He thumped on the door loudly. "I don't care about the stupid password! I want to talk to Heero!"

After a few minutes, the portrait slid open and Malfoy appeared, brushing imaginary flint off his impeccable cloak as he looked down his nose at him. He paused when he recognized Wufei, his eyebrows arching in surprised alarm. "What the hell are you doing here!?" he exclaimed, glaring.

Wufei tried to fight back an urge to growl and raise his hackles. "I want to see Heero."

Malfoy blinked. Now THAT was interesting info-- nothing that didn't prove something he didn't already suspect, though. He would have loved to be angry, but he remembered that it was the full moon and Wufei was a werewolf, and he doubted that beast would respect his Prefect status.

"Let me in or I'll rip your head off."

Malfoy gasped in shock and turned paler. Growing impatient, Wufei shoved past him into the dimly lit corridor. The Pureblood stepped away hurriedly, still trying to look brave for the other Slytherin but making sure he was out of his reach.

"You should be locked away !! Aren't you supposed to turn furry by now? I'll tell my father that you attacked me, you beast!!" he threatened.

Wufei growled after him, not thinking enough to realize how bad it looked, and Draco promptly ran away to get Professor Snape.

The second Wufei stepped in, the students who had been listening started to scream and run to their dorms. Some weren't quick enough and ended up locked out, and pressed against the doors, eyes wide and horrified. There were papers floating everywhere.

Wufei looked around the Common Room, his eyes adapting quickly to the lack of adequate light. Heero wasn't there... He felt completely lost. He didn't know what to do now--Heero was his only hope... He slid down against the wall, waiting for Snape to come and expel him ... or maybe kill him if the Wolf arrived first.

Heero sat up on his bed, startled when the other fifth year irrupted in and locked the door.

"What's going on?" he asked, getting up.

Avery turned to him, pale as death. "He's come to kill me!!!"

Heero glared at his enemy, his wand in hand. "... What are you babbling about now?"

"Your fucking Ravenclaw friend!! That bloody werewolf!! He just charged in the common room, snarling and growling like a beast!! He's going to kill us all!!"

Heero froze. Now that he listened, he could hear kids cry outside... It was not possible that the Wolfsbane potion hadn't worked, was it? Snape never got a potion wrong... But why else would Wufei be out there?

He had to... hide and wait for it to end-- he should-- he was more important. He was a Slytherin, Slytherins thought of themselves first and that was why they survived anything.

But if Wufei bit any of the kids...

He remembered the look on Wufei's face when he had learned of what he was... He couldn't let that happen to anyone else, not to his young Housemates. And the guilt Wufei would feel...

He pushed Avery out of the way and unlocked the door, the strongest freezing spell he knew already on his lips. He was almost crushed in the rush to get inside the room and shut the door. The young students had heard the door open and hadn't lost any time running for cover.

He managed to push past the rush of scared kids and heard the door lock behind him and about a dozen locking spells shouted at it. No escape now. Duo was going to laugh and call him a wannabe Gryff to his dying day...

A lone first year was curled up behind the couch, her eyes wide and terrified, frozen in terror. It wasn't heavy enough to offer her any protection and if she ran, she would be seen. He looked around wildly for the wolf-- and paused when he saw Wufei curled up against the wall by the door, still human.

"... 'Fei?" he called softly. He stepped closer, but he was wary. What if he started to change now?

Wufei looked up, scarcely daring to believe that Heero was there. "Heero--oh, I'm so glad you're here!"

"... What are you doing here? It's the full moon and you're going to change in a few minutes, you should be in your room!!"

"They locked my door, I can't go in... I'm afraid--" He shook, feeling the need to change but fighting it desperately.

Heero checked the antiquated clock in the common room. "...ooh, fuck-- tell me you took your potion," he whispered as he realized how little time they had left. And the child, hiding behind the couch...

"Of course I took it!!"

Heero hadn't been joking when he said that he'd never try to look at Wufei transforming. He wasn't that stupid... but there was no choice any longer. It looked like he would be getting a show either way. Maybe if the wolf transformed early, he could get it to chase him, leading it away from that kid.

He grabbed Wufei's wrist. "Come on!! Let's find you a room that locks!"

Wufei choked back a sob of relief, letting Heero take care of things. He didn't know this part of the school and he was glad he wasn't alone to figure it out. The Slytherin dragged him outside of the Common Room, the portrait slamming shut behind them, running down the damp corridor toward that dungeon room he liked-- the walls were very thick there, and the door was covered in strong, magicked iron. He hoped it would be safe enough.

Wufei was feeling dizzy, and he stumbled a bit as they ran --two legs felt wrong somehow...

The wrist in Heero's hand felt like it was growing thicker, and he prayed for it to be an illusion. So close, touching the beast, there would be no escape and he could feel the teeth closing in on his throat already...

The door!! They were almost there... Just a few more steps...!!

Wufei stumbled, falling on his knees. He struggled to rise, his body contorting as he did, and gasped in pain. Heero nearly slid on the paved floor at the brutal stop but managed to keep his balance and turned to Wufei. His eyes widened as he saw his boyfriend's body twist under his robes-- and the nauseating sound of cracking bones...

Wufei moaned, his sobs suddenly becoming a whine. A long shudder ran up his frame as he suddenly became much the wrong shape for his robes and cloak. Heero briefly stepped back, shaking and nauseous. But there were other students in the corridors, who wouldn't have the time to hide in the Common Rooms.

"Alohomora!!"

He grabbed the back of Wufei's robes and hauled the twisting mass of fur to the room, expecting to feel a bite any second. The transforming creature let out a startled yelp, but, still in the throes of the change, was unable to protest more.

He was so heavy-- Heero stumbled on a loose stone and fell, landing heavily on his side inside the room, Wufei across his legs. A covering of fur was spreading over it, completing the change.

The beast rid itself of the shredded clothes with a shake. Then it rested on his legs again, panting, visibly tired. Heero bit his lip, eyes closed. He couldn't get free now-- but maybe he could prevent Wufei from hurting anyone else. He pointed his wand at the door and called a locking spell quietly, hoping to get a few seconds longer of respite. The door slammed closed and the locks fell in place, the iron shimmering for a second before the spell sank into the wood.

The wolf rested a few minutes, panting heavily, then stood on shaky legs. Heero crawled back on heels and elbows slowly, watching him warily.

Wufei nosed Mate's leg gently, puzzled. He wanted to make sure that Mate was all right. He didn't smell happy. He smelled scared. The wolf scanned the room, searching for a threat, but the place was safe enough. He pawed at Mate's leg again, whining softly.

Heero gave the wolf's large head a pat, his hand shaking in relief. The potion seemed to work --he had feared that it had been tampered with-- and he wasn't acting aggressive... but just a nip would be enough, as long as it drew blood. He petted Wufei more, gaining assurance, scratching the fur behind his ears. The wolf settled down to rest against Heero, resting his head in Heero's lap with absolute trust. He was so black... The Slytherin felt like he was petting an ebony statue. Only his eyes were less than black... They had turned a weird brownish-golden, in fact. In contrast, his fangs appeared whiter than snow, and his tongue surprisingly pink.

Wufei let his mouth loll open, wagging his tail slightly. Heero sighed shakily and relaxed a little. Needing something to busy himself with, he started to tear off the remnants of clothes still around the beast, careful not to pull on his hairs or startle him with too loud a sound. He could feel his own heart slow down, though it stayed on the fast side for a while. He was petting a werewolf... This hadn't quite sunk in yet. If that was the sort of thrills Gryffindors loved, he wondered how it was that so many of them lived old enough to get a job and a family.

Wufei rested quietly against him for a while, tired out by the transformation, but as the moon got higher, he started to get restless. He got up, pacing along the room, then went to scratch at the door. Heero winced.

"No, Wufei, you can't."

The wolf whined, scratching more vigorously. Heero could see the spell glow where splinters of wood had been torn off. So far it refused to give, but the Slytherin didn't know how long it would last against a Dark creature.

Wufei gave the human a soulful look, and Heero shook his head slowly.

"You have to stay here, I'm sorry," he said softly.

Heero reminded himself not to be afraid-- werewolves could smell fear and he didn't want Wufei to get aggressive. He was huge as a beast, but his big paws and tall legs made him look a little like a half-grown puppy. He couldn't be scared of that, could he?

Wufei whined again, padding over to Heero. He went behind him to push him with his head towards the door, wagging his tail hopefully. Heero sighed and sidestepped the werewolf.

"No."

A bit nervous, the Slytherin went to the bench where they had sat together and sat down, his feet on the seat, curled up in the corner.

Wufei gave him an unhappy look, then deciding to try another tactic, picked up Heero's forgotten wand in his mouth and carried it towards the door. Heero gasped. "Hey, give that back!!"

He could hear his wand -- ten and a half inches, ebony with oriental dragon mane core-- snapping between powerful teeth already... He hurried over to Wufei and tried to make him let go gently.

Mate wanted to play! Wufei was so happy. He tugged away playfully, rolling on his back.

Heero winced-- his wand!! "... Wufei, be nice. Give it back," he ordered, trying to sound stern. Why didn't the werewolf play with his own wand, dammit?

The wolf tightened his hold and Heero looked around frantically, searching for something else to give him. He found a scrap of cloth and shook it under his nose. "Here, play with that!"

Thankfully, it worked. Wufei let go of the wand to play with the cloth, and Heero hid his wand in his sleeve quickly, and then went to the rest of Wufei's clothes to find his, hiding it before he could snap it too. Wufei's sharp teeth had put an end to the cloth's days on earth fairly rapidly, and to keep him entertained, the short-haired boy kicked the torn rags at him. The wolf pounced, growling playfully, then investigated and dragged them over to where Heero was sitting down to serve as a sleeping nest.

Heero sighed and petted Wufei's ears again. The fur there was so soft... On his neck, it was coarse, almost like a horse's mane, but his ears felt like velvet.

Wufei was in doggy bliss land. Mate was nice. He played with him and found him a nest and petted him just right. He rested his head on Mate's lap, shutting his eyes happily. Something was missing though ... He thought a second, and then rolled on his back, displaying his stomach to Mate.

Heero blinked, and hesitated a second, but when the wolf poked him with his forepaw, he decided to comply. He started petting Wufei's belly gently, rubbing the soft fur there. He hoped that the wolf wouldn't get perverted ideas...

Wufei shut his eyes, his tail wagging at full speed. Heero laughed. It was hard to stay afraid when he acted so goofy.

"You're cute, you know? You're so proper usually..." he commented, scratching his stomach.

He didn't know how long they spent like that, Wufei's heavy head on his lap, Heero's hands lost in his thick fur, when the wolf scrabbled to his feet, ears pointed toward the door. Heero tensed up, alarmed, then heard the sound of steps resonating in the paved corridor. It was hard to hear how many, because the door was so thick.

The wolf was alert and interested, but still calm, so Heero decided that he wasn't going to lose it just now and slid an arm around his neck to keep him under control before calling out. "Hey, what's going on?"

He heard voices and then someone tried to unlock the door. Heero straightened up, startled. "No, don't!!"

Could they hear him? They were still trying. Heero pet Wufei's head and went to the door, glad to see that the wolf stayed in the corner. "Don't try to open the door, I locked it!"

"Mr Yuy?" Dumbledore asked, his voice almost as unruffled as always. "For what reason is this door sealed?"

Heero fidgeted, for some reason feeling like a kid caught messing up a prank spectacularly. "Ah, I wanted to keep Wufei in."

"I'll have the door open in a second, Headmaster."

Snape's tone was dry, harsher than usual. After all this time with him as his Head of House, Heero still couldn't tell if he was concerned or angry beyond belief.

"No!! He's here, but he's playing nice. I'm okay, Professor. I just think it would be better if he was kept here for the night. He might try to run away-- and he won't attack, but if he nips someone..."

"That is precisely why you should open the door," Snape shot back, his tone implying that Heero was the dumbest moron that he had had the misfortune to teach. The student winced.

"Sir... If you open the door he will run. I'll be fine. He's been -- quite friendly. Your potion is working amazingly well." He didn't think flattery would distract the man, but it didn't hurt to try.

He could hear Snape muttering to himself-- something about suicidal fools and wet-behind-the-ears idiots who thought they could butter him up. He was going to end up with a year of detentions. He glanced back at Wufei, just to meet his big pleading eyes. Oh well. Doing the right thing must be a kind of reward in itself, he supposed.

"Professor Dumbledore-- he told me, before he changed... Someone locked his door, he couldn't get in. I'm guessing he meant his bedroom."

Wufei was still giving him puppy eyes. Heero sighed. "Oh, don't look at me like that."

"We can't look at you, there's a door in the way," snarled Snape. It sounded like he was getting impatient--like he wasn't already.

"No, sir, I was talking to Wufei. I think he'd like to run a bit," he commented, more softly, but he had a feeling his Head of House wasn't that interested.

He head Dumbledore and Snape talking, and tried to listen in, but the wood was thick and just when he was starting to make out words, Wufei distracted him by nosing at his hand. Heero jumped; he hadn't heard the beast move. He petted him to keep him quiet as he listened, straining his ears desperately.

Dumbledore's voice was regretful and worried when he raised it to address Heero. "Sadly, there are too many students walking around the grounds right now. Mr Filch is currently trying to get everyone to go back to their common room, but as it is not curfew time yet, this is going to take some time. You have undoubtedly learned in Defense against the Dark Arts that most freezing spells aren't of a sufficient strength to hold back a werewolf, and I'm afraid that we cannot get Mr Chang outside while avoiding all risk for the other students. Furthermore, in his state, he wouldn't be any competition to the feral werewolves in the Forest and might get injured. We are still searching for another solution, so please don't worry."

Heero sighed. He was cold and tired and he wanted to sleep, but he could take spending the night here if it was what was needed. "I understand, sir. We'll be fine."

The werewolf whined, not understanding the words but getting the tone well enough.

Snape was still muttering in a sarcastic fashion. "At any rate you can't stay here, Yuy -- don't be ridiculous, I am _not_ letting one of my students spend the night locked in with a werewolf. One nip would be enough to contaminate you, and even dosed up in Wolfsbane potion, the smell of blood could awaken the beast's hunger for human flesh."

Heero sighed. "If you can devise a way to get me out without giving Wufei a chance to escape or distress him, then why not. But he -- I think my not being here would distress him quite a lot," he added, scratching the wolf's ears. For the moment Wufei appeared very happy and not in the least distressed; Heero wanted it to last. He snorted at him, smiling softly. "Silly pup."

They were talking between each other again.

"We can't just leave him there, Albus. That beast's own room is magically sealed for a reason--it belongs there."

"I know, Severus, but there are still students roaming the corridors. We cannot open the door yet."

"If we were too get it to eat something containing a sleeping potion, we could then transport it to its room--of course, someone should determine if the room is still able to be used..."

"Do you have anything to make the potion odorless, Severus? He will smell it otherwise... But I admit that the idea has merit. Minerva, could you...? Thank you."

The Transfiguration teacher exchanged a few words with the Headmaster, but her voice was softer than usual and it was hard to understand.

Wufei wasn't being sufficiently petted. He poked Mate with his nose, satisfied when he looked down at him and resumed his caresses.

"Gah, stupid dog. I missed what the Professors were saying about you."

Snape was still talking with Dumbledore, trying to think of a way to get Wufei back to his room, but that was all he could understand. They seemed to have a plan, but Heero had missed the details.

"At any rate, Headmaster, it would be better to remove the beast from the school altogether. You heard what the students said--"

Heero scowled at the door. "He was scared!! He didn't hurt anyone. He was scared and he went to me, that's all!!" he shouted through the wood. It was easier to shout at Snape when there was a thick door between them -- not that he didn't know said door wouldn't be here forever. "It isn't his fault that some morons thought it would be clever to lock him out of his room!"

Snape ignored him blatantly, still talking to the Headmaster. "I'll admit that Chang Wufei is a responsible and hard-working student--but this is not Chang Wufei anymore."

"Right now, the only thing he is, is a big overgrown puppy !" protested Heero, hitting the door in frustration.

Alarmed, Wufei barked. Mate was angry!

Heero closed his hand around Wufei's muzzle to keep him quiet. "Shush, you. It's not the time." What were they saying? He needed to know!

The werewolf wriggled away from Heero and retreated to a corner. The Slytherin blinked. He looked hurt, offended.

"... Wufei?"

The wolf gave Heero big reproachful eyes. The boy stepped toward him, a bit worried. "Wufei? Come back-- I'm sorry. I just wanted to listen..." Of course he knew the werewolf didn't understand his apologies, but he hoped his tone would be enough. Heero knelt, waiting for the wolf to step closer, and finally Wufei padded over to Heero, sticking his cold nose against his neck. Heero slid both arms around his powerful shoulders and hugged him.

"I'm sorry..."

He was relieved when Wufei wagged his tail briefly.

Heero was so busy petting his boyfriend to make sure he knew how sorry he was for shushing him that he didn't hear the wards coming down and the door opening behind him. Wufei did. He saw them too.

There was an old human with long, white fur -- he seemed slow and careful, probably too old to fight, but for some reason Wufei's instincts told him he was still someone to be wary of-- and another, younger one, with dark and dirty fur, who stank of things Wufei didn't feel like investigating. And then, after them, a huge not-quite-man smelling strongly of the forest and somehow, of pack -- not Wufei's pack but still, it was a nice, comforting scent. The dark one was pointing his stick at him. Wufei faintly remembered that people could do things with these sticks. Mate could have opened the door with his own stick, but he wanted to play with Wufei more. Wufei doubted dark-and-stinky wanted to play.

He wanted to growl to warn them off; this was Mate's secret place. The way they stared at him was unnerving --he wanted to slip past them and run out-- but he couldn't leave Mate alone. He had to protect him.

"Yuy, get up and step back slowly," Snape ordered coldly. Startled, Heero jumped and whirled around, almost falling on his ass, and bumped into Wufei's shoulder, grabbing a handful of black fur to keep himself up. The adults tensed visibly, even Dumbledore. Wufei nosed Heero's neck, still staring at the intruders warily.

"Professor!!" Heero's eyes went from Snape to Dumbledore to Hagrid quickly, trying to regain his composure. The door was open; Wufei could try to slip past them…

"There is a containment spell at the end of the corridor," the Headmaster informed him gently. Heero wondered how he'd known. But then maybe he'd just seen him looking at the door.

"Well he appears calm--Hagrid, you want to put the lead on him now?"

Seeing the half-giant advance, Wufei backed cautiously into a corner. The man may smell a lot like he belonged in the forest, but he was still quite huge and the wolf apparently didn't feel like a direct confrontation.

"You're scaring him," Heero intervened, getting up slowly. "He'll be just fine here. The door's thick…"

His Head of House shook his head, spearing him with a dark, contemptuous look. As soon as all that was finished, Heero would be in trouble. "Werewolves have been known to break doors twice this width."

Hagrid was still walking forward slowly. He patted Heero on the shoulder as he passed him. "He'll be right," the Groundskeeper commented quietly. "Best place for this one ain't here. Nor is it th'best place fer you either."

Heero stayed frozen in place, not knowing what to do. Snape was biased against werewolves, but if even Hagrid, who was known to be unreasonably trusting of dangerous creature, agreed with him…

The half-giant sat on his heels, looking more closely at the black werewolf in the corner. "Chang is it? Well, be a good pup and I'll give you a treat… Come on…"

Wufei growled softly, uneasy and wary. Heero winced as he stepped back against the wall, out of the way. It felt like a betrayal somehow, but ...

Hagrid held his giant hand out to Wufei, and eventually, the wolf stepped forward to sniff it. His growls slowly quieted, and Heero relaxed as he saw that the werewolf seemed to trust the Professor and wasn't going to get scared and bite. He even let the big man pull out a collar and close it on his neck, although his posture made it clear that he was only putting up with this because it made them happy. And then Hagrid pulled a muzzle out of his vest and slipped it over the werewolf's nose, so fast Wufei was still blinking in confusion when it was buckled shut behind his head. He shook his head a little, but it wouldn't bulge; luckily Hagrid distracted him before he could get annoyed about it.

Heero reached out to pet Wufei's ears a last time as the half-giant led him toward the door.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" he whispered, earning a soft bark in return. A few times on the way out the black werewolf looked over his shoulder to see if he was following, but finally he was pulled out in the corridor and out of Heero's sight.

"That will not be possible, Yuy."

The boy started. Snape was standing by the door, his wand still held ready for a quick curse.

"... Why not, Professor?" he asked, puzzled.

"Chang will be confined to his room, for the rest of the full moon. No visitors."

"...oh," Heero whispered, lowering his eyes, apparently chastened. He was already thinking up ways to send him a message.

Dumbledore patted Heero's shoulder and leaned toward him, whispering, in a tone that Snape couldn't hear, "I'm certain Hagrid will make sure that Wufei isn't lonely. And I don't believe he knows about the 'no contact' rule--or that he cares."

Heero sent the Headmaster a nervous little smile, mildly relieved. "Thank you, sir."

At the door, Snape gave them a suspicious glare but his eyes strayed to the corridor once again. "If you have no further need of me, Albus, I shall be updating the protections over my house's common room." H stalked off, in a flurry of black robes.

"... I should probably go to bed," Heero said with a sigh, and paused when he felt Dumbledore put his hand on his arm.

"Before you go, there is the little matter of the accusations brought against Chang."

The boy blinked.

"I believe you were a witness to the event?"

The Slytherin hesitated, then nodded wearily. He wasn't in the wrong, so there was nothing to lie about or cover up. It was just a tough habit to break when faced with the Headmaster.

"Can you tell me what happened?" the old man asked him kindly.

" ... I was in my dorm room. I heard screams and my dorm mates stormed in. I went to check..."

"And?"

"Wufei was curled up in a corner, and he looked very scared. He told me that he had been locked out of his room. I checked the clock, and it was only a few minutes before the moonrise, so I pulled him out of the common room. He started to change before we arrived to this chamber, though. I pulled him in, and then I fell-- He landed on me. He was transforming and I was stuck anyway, so I locked the door before he could escape. And then I petted him and tried to make him stop thinking of my wand as a stick to play with," he added with a tired little smile.

"He didn't harm anyone?"

Heero frowned thoughtfully. "He may have pushed people out of his way, maybe. I don't know. But nothing more than that. And he was in a hurry to find me... It's understandable."

The old man nodded, as if taking his argument into account.

"Would you say, Heero that Wufei's actions were in any way--aggressive? And by that I mean, did he, while with you, show any signs that the potion was not working?"

"No. Sure I was scared for a while, but he never tried to bite or anything. To be frank, he acted like a big puppy."

Dumbledore smiled at him, his blue eyes sparkling. Heero wanted to trust these eyes, even though he had always been wary of the old man before. It was easy to forget that he should be suspicious and keep his secrets close.

"It was kind of --cute."

He would never have dreamed of admitting it to anyone else, but Dumbledore was special and weird, so... For once it didn't sound like an insult. He flushed and looked away, feeling silly. Dumbledore was still smiling, a bit like a grandfather sharing a secret with his grandchild. It made him feel a bit better.

The Headmaster's amused smile didn't last, though, and soon melted into concern. "Would you think it likely that there is anyone who would deliberately lock Mr Chang out of his room, knowing that he needed to be confined?"

Heero frowned, his eyes narrowed. He couldn't admit to being suspicious of anything, he didn't have proof and if he went and sold one of his Housemates to Dumbledore, he would be finished. But he didn't want to just say nothing.

"Frankly...? That seems big for a prank... I'd say someone was trying to have him kicked out."

Dumbledore nodded seriously. "Thank you, Mr. Yuy. You've been a great help."

Heero shrugged, a bit nervous. "Ah-- It's nothing."

"Now, I expect Madame Pomfrey will want to look you over before you return to your House?"

"I'm fine, sir. I wasn't even scratched or bruised."

The old man patted Heero's arm. "She'll want to look you over anyway. Besides ... I have a feeling that the hospital wing will be a lot quieter than your common room tonight. You should spend the night there."

Heero thought about it and winced. He didn't feel like dealing with hysteria and backstabbing yet. "... Probably," he agreed wearily.

Dumbledore patted his shoulder comfortingly. Clearly dismissed, Heero walked quietly up the corridor, his shoulders a bit slumped.


End file.
